Faded Dreams
by Murdah
Summary: Naruto turns down the three year training plan, meeting different people and shaping him into a young man while forming a relationship with Hinata. Set after anime episode 201 or so. Has a handful of OC's but Naruto X Hinata.
1. Chp 1: Faded Dreams

I wrote this for myself mainly, but I put it up here for constructive criticism. That means if you don't like it, I don't really care as long as you explain why.

I don't own the Naruto series or its characters or ideas. I'm not posting this on every chapter, so if you miss it now and form your own assumptions, it's your own fault. That said, please contact me before using any OCs I introduce in this fan fiction.

She wandered in darkness. The black was thin and watery, but still opaque and endless as she cut through it slowly, aimlessly. A horrible, cold feeling clung to the back of her mind, as if something was watching her. She turned quickly - darkness behind her. All she could hear was the panicked panting and unintelligible, soft sounds she emitted as she shot around and looked the way she had been originally. A deep, deafening, rhythmic sound that only lasted a moment every few seconds resonated in her ear, in all of her being, over and over. The pace quickened rapidly as she tried to breathe. The air was smooth like night, but she was suffocating, it wouldn't enter her and bring needed relief!

Beige appeared in front of her, enormous, foreboding, like a barrier. A soft gasp escaped her soft lips, in between the all-consuming thumping of her heart beats. The two pale, lavender orbs inside her eyes adjusted to this sudden change, and raised to the top of the beige. There was the ovular, soft-tan face of a man. His features were soft, his eyes were just like her's, she realized, as he looked down upon her. His head turned, eyes casting away from her, his head lowering into his shoulders, eyebrows slanting up near the ridge of his nose, down towards his ears. Though softly spoken, the words filled her entirety, her body, her mind. 'I expected more out of you...'

"Otou-san!" She reached, and reached, straining her small muscles, trying to grasp him, stop him, show him what she's accomplished. But the giant image moved the opposite direction, its back to her, long, smooth hair never breaking its shape as he walked away with each step faster than her, then faded away.

The pitch black blurred as she lowered her hand. It raised as she sunk and stopped just as suddenly. There was a dull ache to her knees, and a hot sensation from the bottom of her eyes, down her cheeks and off her jaw. She raised her small, no, petite palm to her eyes. Realization crept up from the center of her, her heart, as the deafening sound of it beating began to subside. In front of her, in a few moments' sprinting distance was an orange shaped figure with a bright yellow, spiky top. Ease melted through her, from her shoulders to her slowly less throbbing heart, to just below in her stomach. The sensation continued to cascade down her entire being as she raised herself back to her feet.

The center of her throbbed again, almost painfully strong, and the suffocating sensation of air trapped in her throat occurred again. The figure in front of her raised its hand, its back facing her, and hit the darkness like an even wall, like it was trying to break down a door but without any spirit or will to do so. The person's head lowered and hung, easily detectable since the top of it was spiked. He turned slightly, resting his forehead against this unseeable wall, cheeks bewhiskered. A sharp ache cut through her heart as she saw his bright, blue eyes half closed, as he swallowed nothing painfully, trying to not let his feelings flow from the windows of his soul, his eyes. He was alone, he had always been alone, his love was unanswered. She knew exactly how he felt with the utmost intensity, the whole of her being, she had to lift away his suffering. He grew larger as she sped towards him, almost flying, reaching out, straining, just like for the man in a beige robe, with similar eyes.

A soft sound emitted from her. Could he hear it? "Naruto-kun(1). I.."

The boy turned to her, growing larger the closer she came. He closed his eyes and smiled, grinned, his white teeth showing. A slightly husky but definitely young voice called out to her, "I like people like you," and continued to echo through the darkness, never losing its volume, which seemed to be fading away, becoming grey, no, white. Very bright, it hurt behind her eyes.

The boy was fading away, hard to see. Grey transformed slowly into a soft white. The interior of a room. Stubborn rays of blinding light filtered through the blinds. Sitting up, bed sheets sliding down her soft, curved body, she blinked the blurriness out of her eyes. Naruto-kun. I..I have to tell you. You're suffering all alone, like I am.. "Naruto-kun..." she had to say it. It gave her strength, even if she could barely hear herself. Just issuing his name softly from her small, but plush lips brought her comfort and confidence.

It itched right between his eyes, just a little lower. He twitched his nose but to no avail. The itching was growing more intense, like a squirming something against the inside. Naruto turned his head and sneezed. He grumbled, angered at the state of not being awake but having to wake up. "Someone must've been talking about me..."

He strained his mind. What was that great dream he had been enjoying just moments ago? Someone kind, happy to be with him. It wasn't Sakura - he'd have remembered the bright hair. It was darker, and shorter, he remembered those beautiful, lavender, jewel-like eyes over the steaming bowl of the most delicious looking ramen being proffered to him by the young woman. Her giggle had been musical, soft, very effeminate. From behind the bowl, the soft, feminine voice reached his ears, "Itadakimasu(2), Naruto-kun!" Naruto focused really hard, closing his eyes. His eyes widened a bit, bringing clarity to his vision, as he scratched his forehead. "Why was I dreaming about Hinata..?"

A small, timid sneeze forced its way out of her soft lips as she pulled on her simple black shirt. "Must've been dusty. No one ever talks about me.." she thought, as she pulled on her white jacket that hid her curvy figure. Absentmindedly, Hinata donned on her equipment - shuriken(3) and holster, amongst some other small but useful items that could all be fitted into a hand-sized, strapped pack which she put around her waist, hanging snugly off her hip.

"Mm..I wonder what Tsunade Obaachan(4) wants. It must be a mission!" Naruto sat in his small, one-room apartment. His kitchen had a chair, a four-foot wide wooden table and a refrigerator and stove. In the handful of cabinets around the stove were mostly nothing. Nothing but packaged ramen anyways. The blonde youth set a cup down in front of him, waiting with great anticipation for his tasty treat. But the anxiousness drained a bit from his mouth and tongue as he recalled the most savory bowl that was being offered to him a short while ago, back in what should've been reality. He peeled back the cover, and stuck his chopsticks inside the contents but paused. "Why her though..how odd. Every time I see Hinata she turns red and our conversation usually ends after a sentence. Hm.." because she was so timid, they had hardly had any interaction, but Naruto liked Hinata. She was definitely the only one from his academy days who never belittled or attacked him, verbally or otherwise. Even if she kept to herself mostly, she seemed nice enough, despite the weird timidness thing. "Hinata..."

Hinata sneezed again, and moaned in her soft voice, "I hope I'm not becoming ill. It's going to make this next mission too difficult probably if I do." The young woman returned her gaze to the bright blue skies, laced with clouds here and there. So bright and uplifting, just like his eyes..

Eventually, Hinata found herself into the Hokage's(5) perhaps excessively expansive office. It may not have been that large, but all it had in it really was a personal desk and chair to go with it. It seemed like such..a waste. The voluptuous and youthful looking woman gazed over at Hinata and smiled benignly from underneath her small eyebrows. If only I looked like that. Maybe I'd have the courage to talk to Naruto-kun more..no..he'd come speak to me, and seek my attention. He's going to be at that age soon.. she trailed off in her head. Her thoughts were interrupted when a rough cough issued from Tsunade. Hinata focused her gaze on the Hokage.

"Well figures that your partner's going to be late. He's never reliable, that kid.." irritably, Tsunade rubbed her brow with the tip of her forefinger and middle finger. "Hinata, the mission I have for you today is ranked C. Normally I'd like to send one more, just in case something occurs to elevate it to a B ranked difficulty, but we're going to be understaffed for a long time - my apologies." To this Hinata simply smiled and nodded obediently. "Well then, what I need you to do-"

The energy waves of something large being suddenly banged against by thick, solid object passed through and startled Hinata. She gritted her teeth as the excitement began to escalate inside of her, quickly turning her back to the Hokage to see what was going on. She really didn't have to though..

"Tsunade Ob**aaaa**chan! What do you want today? Huh? Huh? It had better be a super A rank mission to bring back Sasuke! If not I'm going anyways, believe it! I - huh?" Naruto blinked a couple of times, staring at the bewildered girl in front of the Hokage. "Hinata, what are you doing here?" The expected and trademark rosiness crept from her nose to under her eyes. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering, but managed to let go of it shortly afterwards. Words slowly crawled out of her mouth, "Na..Naruto-kun, I..I..Tsu-tsunade-sama.." The rough cough interrupted her train of thoughts again.

"Naruto..Urusei(6)!" Tsunade grew a vein in her pretty forehead and shook her fist at the energetic, young boy. "I was going over your mission details with Hinata. For this mission it will be only the two of you, hm..." Tsunade skewed her lips, considering something. Her look changed back to its stern countenance having decided. "Hinata will be the leader for this mission.."

"What!" Burst out Naruto.

"**Shut up and listen**!" Tsunade huffed for a few moments, her hand splayed violently across the top of her desk, fingers arched and straining. Then with a sigh, she relaxed and continued, "Anyways, you two will need to travel a fair deal away - to deliver these communications to The Kusakage(7) of Grass country. Normally we'd have less experienced nin than you do this but everyone's hands are tied up right now..anyhow, I expect I can depend on you two, well, more specifically Hinata to do something this simple." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Naruto and raised her hands in front of her mouth, knitting the fingers gently as she glowered at the blonde ninja.

With his emotions rising, so did the pitch of his voice. Naruto demanded while gesticulating roughly with his opened hands, "Oy oy, my average can't be so low. Why is Hinata in charge and why're you treating me like this, Obaachan?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed more. "Her success rate is over twice _your's_." Naruto jolted with an 'ngh' sound while making a motion like he was having an aneurism. The Hokage lifted herself a bit, sitting up straight. "When you two finish the mission, report back to me. There's still plenty to do - so don't goof around! Get this done quickly as possible. Dismissed." She released the two with a wave of her hand, haughtily. Naruto gritted his teeth, then with a 'hmph,' folded his arms above his head, hands behind his blonde hair and sauntered out of the room. Hinata suppressed a soft giggle, and followed him out.

Author's Notes

(1) This is a additive to a name for fond familiarity and/or respect. It doesn't translate well to English. It applies only to boys (typically males in other inhuman species).

(2) A traditional saying before one cracks their chopsticks apart and eats a meal. Translates along the lines of 'Let's eat.'

(3) Shuriken are small, metal, throwing weapons. Their designs are unique to each village or clan, described by the amount of points the aerodynamic projectile is shaped in (three pointed, four, five, etc).

(4) 'Granny'

(5) 'Fire Shadow'

(6) 'Shut up'

(7) 'Grass Shadow'


	2. Chp 2: The Path Less Walked

Disclaimer stays posted only at chapter one.

Still angrily, Naruto marched with his arms folded above his head, hands laced together behind them, eyes closed. Without warning, Naruto turned his bearings upon Hinata, and glared at her - with his eyes closed.

"Na-Naruto-kun..?" She stammered. _He's angry at me! Oh no.._

Naruto's chest slowly raised, then he let out a sigh. Opening his eyes, he grinned at Hinata as she gazed into his bright blue eyes that could captivate her forever. He rubbed the back of his spiky head, "Sorry about what I said earlier, Hinata. Obaachan's right, it's better for you to be leader. Eh heh heh.."

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata felt her cheeks heat. "If..if you want, you can be leader, Naruto-kun.." she felt her shoulders hunch as she cast her gaze down.

"Nah, I really think you'd do better!" He grinned at her again, making her try to hide herself even more. "Ano..I'm going to get my things ready. Obaachan said we'd end up taking a few days, right? I'll meet you at the gates. I don't want to slow you down. Believe it!"

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata flushed more. Was that praise? She pondered if it was right to consider that praise, as her feet lead her back to the expansive Hyuuga mansion. _He definitely thinks well of me being a leader, right?_

Naruto stood in his kitchen. What was needed for a trip? Food, right? They wouldn't always come places to eat along the way to Grass village. Grass village..why Grass village? Were they even allies? Naruto knew so little about politics, he couldn't help but rub the back of his head in bewilderment. Hinata would probably know what Konoha's relationship to Grass village was - probably why Tsunade had elected her as leader.

Naruto returned to his original thoughts. He grabbed a backpack and began to unceremoniously stuff it with cupped ramen until he was sure he couldn't fit anymore in it. "Oh, almost forgot! Heh heh heh.." taking out a pair of wood chopsticks, he put it in one of the backpack's frontal pockets. They had his name engraved and coated in gold lettering on them, his first name on one, his family name on the other. "Alright! Now I can head out!" and without a second thought, he locked his apartment door and bounded towards the front gates of Konoha.

Outside was a typically beautiful, warm day. He wondered what Kakashi-sensei was doing - on second thought, he was probably reading that perverted book series Jiraiya created. Sasuke..? Hm..the seemingly endless energy left Naruto as he wondered about his best friend, remembering the last time he saw him, the choice he had made - to forsake his friends and live on for vengeance. Vengeance at the price of giving up his body and soul to Orochimaru. Naruto gritted his teeth, and tightened his fist at his thigh, thinking about what an idiot Sasuke was for letting go of everything. Everything so precious, that he himself had fought so hard for - for invaluable friends. Sakura-chan? She was with Kakashi-sensei, but what would she do while there was no action? What did she think? Naruto's facial features and posture drooped as he admitted to himself - probably nothing about him, or if him, pounding his face in. Why was she so mean to him when all he did was like her! It's not like she didn't know what that felt like from her unanswered calls for affection from Sasuke. Damn that idiot for forsaking them, her. The next time Naruto saw that dumbass, he was going to beat his face in, believe it! Naruto had to admit to himself that without Sasuke, he didn't have a whole lot going on since Sakura was always giving him the cold shoulder, and Kakashi and Jiraiya tended to spend time away from him. If only..

"Naruto-kun..!" Naruto turned his gaze from the beautiful sky down to the road, and caught sight of Hinata. He grinned and waved enthusiastically, chuckling.

"Oy, Hinata!" The young girl finally met up with Naruto, and though while not tired, breathlessly bowed a bit and said almost desperately, "I'm sorry for making you wait, Naruto-kun!"

"Eh? Better now than later, I guess.." Naruto muttered, while scratching his whiskered cheek. "Oh yeah, how come you took so long, Hinata?" Naruto eyed her suspiciously. Hinata felt waves of energy issuing out from her heart, threatening to make her faint under the scrutinizing gaze of Naruto. Heat raising in her cheeks, Hinata cast her lavender eyes down.

"Na-Naruto-kun..I..was just getting everything I needed. I..I just thought..maybe I was too..too..overly cautious.." Unphased by her timid behavior, Naruto circled her, to see everything she packed. Almost as quickly as he had managed to get behind her did she hear an unexpected groan, then accompanying slapping sound as Naruto bonked his forehead with his palm.

"I can't believe I forgot a sleeping bag and tent. Wait, I don't even own any of those.." Naruto began to contemplate the mistakes of spending all his pocket money on cupped ramen.

"Na-Naruto-kun.." Hinata paused, and the feeling clutched her being again, threatening to make her return to her pleasant dreams. The ones she could speak easily to him in. "We..we could share my tent, Naruto-kun.." Instantly the young boy's countenance brightened.

"Really? You'd do that for me? Haha thanks Hinata, you're always so nice dattebayo!" He grinned at her, but as quickly as he shined, he dulled looking down. "I'm sorry Hinata, I'm already slowing you down.."

"No no, no! It's okay, Naruto-kun. It's better for us to use one tent anyways..it's..it's more..efficient.." despite her reasoning, Hinata still ducked into her shoulders, flushing a bit more. _It'd also be more efficient to sleep in the same bag_..she swayed dangerously, but snapped out of it as Naruto said something loudly.

"Well, eh heh heh heh, either way let's get started! I wanna see what my next mission from Obaachan is already!" Hinata nodded while smiling, happy to be on a mission all alone with the boy who gave her so much inspiration and courage, because the self-confidence and determination radiated off of himself almost always. But she remembered that it was only for a few days, and then who knew when their next mission together would be? Especially just the two of them..sharing the same tent..Hinata snapped out of it, putting her hands to her cheeks distressed, feeling them heated. Luckily Naruto was already pushing ahead, back turned to her. She hurried to reach his side.

The two walked on in silence for a while, Naruto with his eyes closed, Hinata watching him breathlessly. Hinata suddenly realized he had turned and was watching her with those big, bright blue eyes. A small gasp escaped from her lips as she put her fingers over her mouth, as if trying to push what escaped back in, and blushing. "Hinata, do you dream often?"

"Dre..dream..often?" Hinata was startled by such a strange question out of the blue, but it was Naruto's nature. She knew he was great at keeping people on their toes.

"Yeah. Eh heh heh." Naruto grinned at Hinata. "Sorry for such a strange question. It's just last night I had a dream, and it's weird..hm..because it involved you.." Naruto muttered, knitting his brows as he thought, staring at the ground.

"Na-Naruto-kun..dreamed about me..?" Hinata pushed out surprised, flushing more than anything. _What did Naruto-kun dream? Was it..something romantic? Or maybe..he's at the age now..naughty..? _She flushed maddly, her entire face going from light tan to soft pink.

"I'm not too sure what it was about.." Naruto admitted, frowning more. Hinata's head and heart along with it fell. "But I do remember..that.." She quickly lifted her head, completely attention devoid to everything other than Naruto. _What was it, I must know! _"..that.." _what..what..? _"..that you were offering me the most delicious bowl of ramen I've ever seen before. And that you were happy. Strange it was you and not Sakura-chan." Hinata blinked, she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing to be in that kind of dream. Certainly it wasn't bad, was it? "Ne Hinata..you ever have strange dreams like that with me in them?"

She flushed and her breath escaped her again, and continued to evade her. She had dreams with Naruto in them, plenty of different kinds too, but never something so odd. She quickly shook her head twice. "But...but I've had dreams with Naruto-kun..in them.." she managed to murmur, barely more audible than a whisper.

Naruto pursed his lips, regarding her. "They aren't bad, are they?" a question that shocked the timidity out of Hinata. "I mean you're always so nervous and stuff around me. If I was always in your nightmares, I'd sleep outside of your tent, believe it."

"No! You're never in my nightmares, Naruto-kun. I..I couldn't..have nightmares of you.."

"You sure?" Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "That's good, because I'd hate to share the same tent as you if I made you all nervous because of that. Well, if that's what you say then I believe it!" Hinata smiled, feeling a bit more courageous from her outburst and sharing of her feelings. It felt good to be able to let him know how she really felt..

The both continued down the dirt path, until a foreboding series of forks sprouted from the same point, complete with a sign post pointing down the many paths. The pair came to a halt, and observed the directions.

"Mm.." Naruto frowned, knitting his brows, showing that distinct look of determined concentration. Hinata couldn't help but giggle, admiring her favorite qualities shown by Naruto. "A-re**(1)**? You think it's funny too how Grass Village isn't listed on this?" Naruto turned to Hinata with his eyes closed.

"Naruto-kun, it's a hidden Village. But I know how to get there, I've gone to towns near the boarder of Grass Country." She smiled at him softly.

"Oh, you have to do that more often, Hinata! You look so cute, believe it!" To his compliment Hinata swayed dangerously, but managed to prevent her eyes from rolling back and her dreams taking a hold of her. "Oy oy oy," Naruto quickly stepped next to her, getting ready to catch her if she fell. "Phew, that was close. Anyways, which way do we go, Hinata?" He stared anxiously at the young girl. _Just like a puppy, waiting for a treat.._ Hinata took a deep breath and sighed contently, turning to the sign post.

"Let's see.." she scanned down the list, fingertip softly between her lips, bending over a little. She seemed to be taking a good long while. Naruto felt a bit of heat generate in the back of his neck and cheeks. Though her jacket normally covered her figure - the important parts anyways, here it was, just too short to cover her curvy hips and bottom while she bent over. Naruto swallowed, inhaled and sighed, trying to look away for a little while. But Hinata seemed to be trying to decide their route while still bending over in front of the sign post. Naruto's bottom lip quivered, he tried not to make the uneasy sound that wanted to exit him, so he bit his bottom lip. Could it be that under that coat, she was the curviest girl of their class? Sakura wasn't very promising looking, except her cute face. Hm.. Giving up, he began to turn his gaze back towards the intense distraction to find Hinata beginning to straighten up and turn towards him. With a start, he aimed his eyes at the post instead. "Naruto-kun? There's two paths we can take.."

"Oh? Well what's the difference, Hinata?" Naruto regarded the sign full of names he did not recognize. His companion smiled again, and blushed slightly despite not being seen, remembering his recent words about her smile. The young girl raised her finger to the post.

"If we go to this village, we can go to a couple more through the forest. It's longer but safer. Merchants tend to use it for safety due to the amount of towns connected to it." Naruto pursed his lips and made an 'nh,' sound. _Clearly the most dangerous route would be Naruto's choice.. _"This route goes along the coast, and there's only one town before the Grass Country's boarder. It's shorter if we travel the same speed, but it goes along an unguarded and exposed cliff road along an inland sea**(2)**.." Hinata waited to see if her bet with herself was correct. The wheels in Naruto's head clearly began to spin.

"Hmmm..Obaachan wanted us to be fast, ne? But I'd hate to put you in danger.." Hinata issued a breathless gasp - Naruto was concerned with her safety. "But we always see the forest, it's kinda boring..." Naruto fanned his spiky head, "I've only seen the sea a few times, what about you, Hinata?" He turned those bright, lively eyes to her.

"M-me? Ano..ano..I've seen it..once..it was a very..beautiful..." Hinata's flush spread from her nose to her ears. The next word was only a whisper, "blue.."

"Ah, then it's settled! We're going to see the sea again dattebayo!" He grinned at Hinata, who dug her toe in the ground and began down one of the splintered paths, Naruto happily marching behind her. _I guess he did what I thought he would, but I didn't..because of me? Naruto-kun.._

Green surrounded them as they followed the path. The animals and bugs watched them as they passed by, going about their business. The sounds of the critters lessened, the foliage began to lift and become sparse, the sun lowered towards the end of how far they could see down the path. Near the Horizon was no more forest, the ground curving up and the path going down. The air had become salty. Hinata stopped in front of Naruto, and faced him.

"Naruto-kun, I..I think we should stop for the night. It could be very dangerous camping out along the cliff.." Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Erm..I'm not so good with those thingies..believe it..." He pointed at her back, which was carrying the folded up tent. "I'll go get firewood and water so we can eat dinner!" Naruto said while removing his backpack, laying it near Hinata's feet and bounding off in the thinning trees. Hinata sighed. So full of energy..he has to try his best at everything.

Hinata sighed, releasing some stress from herself. The tent had been difficult for her to set up alone. It had tested her strength a good deal._ I'm still so weak and undeveloped..Naruto-kun wouldn't have had any trouble setting up a tent. _Hinata paused in front of the constructed tent, and blinked a few times. In her mind, surrounded in inky black space. The orange jumpsuit of Naruto was not completely visible, being tangled up in the soft green of the devilish tent. In a panicked, higher-pitched voice he screamed, 'Damn you stupid tent! I'm really gonna defeat you if it's the last thing I do dattebayo! Believe it! Grahhh!' Naruto in her mind, squirmed desperately against the ground and incessant hold of the tangled tent. She couldn't help but giggle a good deal.

"Oh, you're a lot happier than when I normally see you, Hinata! That's really good though!" Naruto laid down a pile of wood near the tent, and brushed his hands off on his orange jumpsuit, grinning at a blushing Hinata. It only caused her to redden deeper. "Ah.." Naruto smiled happily, and reached around behind him to remove a bamboo water container. Grinning, he set up the wood to create the fire, "We can eat pretty soon..just have to..." he took out a very small piece of flint and tinder, sparking a mellow fire to life. "Are you gonna come sit and eat with me?"

Hinata gave a little start, but slowly and timidly sat herself down across from Naruto as he took out a small kettle from his backpack and began to boil the water. "Naruto-kun? What're you making..?" To her question, the young boy brightened gratefully.

"I really thought you weren't going to ask!" He raised his fist in front of his chest, eyes sparkling. "I'm boiling water so we can eat the greatest thing ever in this world - ramen!" Hinata laughed softly._ I should've known, I always see him eating ramen.. he did say he had a dream with ramen.. and it had me in it.. _grateful for the warm glow of the fire to cover her flushed face. "Ano..Hinata?"

"Ye..yes?" Hinata stared intently at Naruto, who in turn was staring intently at her, over the fire. "Wha..what is it..Naruto-kun?"

"It's that. You call me 'Naruto-kun' but I'd feel all weird if I called you Hinata-chan**(3)**.." he kinda began to mumble towards the end, but soft spoken Hinata still heard him. She lowered her head, the warm spirit glow leaving her. "So..do you mind telling me more about yourself so I can call you 'Hinata-chan'?" Naruto placed his palms on his thighs with a look of being prepared for the worst.

"O..oh..Na..Naruto..kun.." Hinata flushed her heaviest today. "Ye..yes I..I'd..like...that.." she began to poke her index fingers together - it helped her a little bit.

"That's great! I had really hoped you'd say that, believe it! Umm let's see." Naruto turned his gaze up to the dusky sky, thinking. "Ah, um..um..." Naruto gave that stern look of concentration again, as if he was looking for the best question ever. "Um..oh. Ah! You said you dream right? Tell me about some of your dreams, Hinata-chan!" she bit her lip and flushed a good deal, Naruto using that term of endearment so soon. But then she flushed her entire face, thinking of what dream she could tell him. _Oh no..all my dreams are either nightmares, or __**very**__..intimate with him. And sometimes very intimate! I should not tell Naruto-kun about those..he'd think I was a bad girl..my dreams..are inappropriate..or awkward at best.._ She bit the tip of her finger, flustered over what to say. _Should..should I make up something..? _"Hm..you can't really think of a dream to tell me, can you?" Naruto burst into her train of thought. He wasn't right, but Hinata decided he wasn't exactly wrong either.. "Well okay. I can tell you about that dream I had last night if you want! I remembered a bit more!" Naruto pointed at his own face, bright with eager happiness to possibly ease Hinata. Breathlessly, she remembered she had been the girl in his dreams, all alone with him..she managed a quick nod, listening with all she could, eagerly.

"Okay, um..let's see.." Naruto bit his thumb. "I think..it started with me walking down a forest path. I can't really remember what the surroundings were since it was so bright, but I think it was a forest path. And after walking for a while, I came to a fork in the road. But the sign post was weird, it was one way 'common path,'" Naruto illustrated by poking one of his index fingers to the side, in front of him, "and the other way said, 'less walked.'" Hinata blinked a couple of times as Naruto once again pointed with his free hand, the other way. "I stood there, I don't know how long. But I somehow knew depending on which way I went, it'd change my life forever. Eh heh heh." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I decided I liked the one that was less walked 'cuz I like to stick out so much, so I headed down it without looking back. Do you know what was at the end, Hinata-chan?" Hinata shook her head softly, listening raptly. "It was this huge," Naruto moved his arms expansively, looking above Hinata a bit, "beautiful, rich looking castle at the top of this really long flight of stairs! I was determined once I saw it to go inside! So, I began to walk up the really, really, really long flight of stairs. Eventually I got really tired, I was crawling up the stairs. But they seemed to have no end to them!" Hinata leaned closer to Naruto, being careful of the fire but having to get closer, to hear every detail of his story. "I kept telling myself that if I made it, I'd be happier than I've ever been before! So I got up and struggled on. I finally reached the top, I don't really know when though. And there it was in front of me, the grand castle!" Naruto grinned, and took his backpack, opening it and taking out two cups of packaged ramen. He beamed at Hinata, who threatened to faint only known to herself, but managed to take the cup and murmur 'thank you,' softly. Naruto poured some of the hot water into his cup, placing it at his feet, and then filled Hinata's once she peeled back her own cup's lid and held it out to him. Naruto quickly replaced the kettle, eager to return to his story. "Ah. Okay, um..when I got to the top though, I was really tired, so I fell over and laid there. I couldn't even lift my hand. Someone was approaching me. It was hard to hear, because they were walking real softly but I saw socks and geta**(4)** in front of me eventually." Naruto tested his ramen with the tip of his fingertip but it was apparently still too hot. "And on the ground near their geta was a really rich, expensive, soft looking light purple silk kimono**(5)** robe's tail. I tried to look up, but I was too worn out. I heard a voice, it was soft and beautiful, but I couldn't understand what was said. It sounded like music.." Hinata waited anxiously. "I was lifted up and I think carried towards the castle. It was great, believe it! I was so light as a feather dattebayo, like I was flying slowly there! I guess I sorta blacked out though. When I came to, I was in this beautifully decorated room. I looked around from where I was laying, but I was all alone... until I heard the sliding of a wooden door. When I looked over, I saw the back of a beautiful, young maiden in a rich and pretty looking silk kimono. I called out to her, 'miss!' And she turned around. She had a really pretty face and short, purple hair. She came over to me and sat down, and laughed, running her hand through my hair. She smiled at me, and said in a soft, gentle voice, 'you must be hungry.' and I agreed of course. She reached behind her and when she turned around, she was holding the most delicious looking bowl of ramen I'd ever seen. When she smiled again at me, I realized that this I think Princess was you, Hinata-chan!"

She tried to breathe, but it was so hard to. _Did..Naruto-kun call me..'beautiful'? _"Eh heh heh. I guess that kinda fits, I mean..you're sorta the princess of the Hyuuga clan, right?" Naruto grinned and chuckled appreciatively about the mild humor of the analogy.

"...Na-Naruto-k-kun.." Hinata couldn't even think of what else to say.

"Oh, the ramen's ready! Itadakimasu!" Without another word, Naruto began to dig in. Hinata silently picked up her cup and stared at it for a while, the thoughts of what she had just heard running through her mind.

Shortly there after, and in Naruto's case, many cups of ramen, Hinata laid in her sleeping bag, a few feet from Naruto. She had been able to not pass out once so far, she was very happy with herself. She was improving. Naruto had that kind of effect on her. She smiled, because she was able to talk to Naruto so much, having told him a little about her family and her team, Naruto going first of course. Most things he told her she already knew from watching him from afar for so long, like how his teammates were, that Sasuke was his best friend, he had no family, though Iruka sensei**(6) **and the late third Hokage he thought were close to what fathers may have been like.

Hinata had managed to tell him a few 'less important' favorites..such as her favorite color - blue (Naruto's was orange naturally). She had almost died telling him though, the breath leaving her and threatening to stay forever gone. She gazed over at his peaceful form, in a black shirt and green pants, blonde head covered by a black bodied, white rimmed hat whose opening was shaped like a black, cartoony dog with white headband and puffed end. She wanted to feel his warmth so badly, and for him to feel her's, even if he was already asleep. He didn't bring a sleeping bag after all. _I wish we were both in this one.. _"Naruto-kun," she murmured breathlessly. Her heart shaky, she closed her opaque, crystal like lavender eyes and slowly drifted off into her welcoming dreams.

Author's Notes

(1) 'Huh'

(2) Similar but far smaller in size as The Black Sea and The Caspian Sea in 'the real world.' The author had actually wrote up to around chapter five or six until I decided foolishly to actually start looking up reliable information on Naruto, including the geography. While there is no claim in the anime/manga whether such a sea exists in that area, the author would like you to let this pass. Please..please? Please!

(3) 'Chan' is a additive to a name for familiarity and endearment. It can be used for males (typically very young boys), but normally it's not used for the male gender unless for maximum intimacy or embarrassment.

(4) These are wooden sort of sandals worn often in feudal Japan by all, especially traveling types. They're like feet-sized planks with straps, plugged into one end of each board respectively to separate the big toe from the other four and keep the boards to the feet. On the bottoms of them, they'd have two pillars laid on their sides, separated for a bit of traction. Watch some old Samurai flicks like Yojimbo or Zatoichi and you'll see for yourself.

(5) These are traditional one or two-piece robes worn more often by women than men. They tend to be very baggy and loose fitting, but despite that, cover a lot of the body (unless the occupant of the clothing desires otherwise, then they can easily adjust their wear to show off their body by making it more loose or tight). They're great for 'subtle' flirting, and geisha (female entertainers, particularly in the feudal period) were known for wearing them for attractiveness which is probably why Hinata's blushing so much in the opening that uses the Go song (fourth season's opening).

(6) 'Sensei' translates to a variety of things. For the most part it's used for 'teacher' in this fanfiction.


	3. Chp 3: Confessions of A Dreamer

Disclaimer - chapter one, though no one should care anyways.

Naruto sighed, sitting up in the dark tent. He was having trouble sleeping, which was unusual for him. Normally he'd just fall over like a log, as if he flipped a switch to sleep. Tonight seemed different though. Perhaps he was just too cold. He turned his gaze to the sleeping beauty next to him, almost covered completely in her soft, warm, sleeping bag. His face and shoulders drooped as he thought to himself. _Man, just like her jacket. It covers her up all the way. And I was so hopeful too from when we got to that sign post.. _The blonde boy rotated his stiff shoulders, groaning.

"Naruto-kun," issued from next to him. It was so soft and gentle, effeminate, like the Princess of Ramen (as he had decided to call her - believe it!) in his dream. Naruto smiled slightly, softly, tilting his head. He scooted closer to Hinata, who looked serene and genuinely happy. _Is she dreaming about me? Couldn't say she looks like she's having a nightmare, that's a relief...I remember Jiraiya saying something..definitely perverted..about being able to talk more honestly with women in their sleep. I wonder.._

"Hinata?" he said very softly. Naruto lowered himself on his elbow and side, his lips a handful of inches from her ear. The peaceful maiden smiled slightly stronger, and issued a soft 'mm..' in response to his voice. Naruto took a deep intake of breath and sighed through his nostrils, easing out the jitteriness of doing something so crazy. What if she woke up and saw him? Would she think he was like Jiraiya? Still, he was curious, and curiosity was one of his strongest traits. "Hinata..?" he called again, softly, even for being at the distance he was.

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata's face flushed even in her sleep, but very lightly, difficult to see in the dim ambiance.

"Hinata-chan.." Naruto smiled. It went well with her name. She smiled a bit more strongly in her sleep and sighed happily, softly, unsurprising due to her gentle nature. "Hinata-chan, why are you so happy?"

"mm..because..Naruto-kun isn't lonely anymore.." she murmured softly. Naruto woke up a bit more. "Because..he's not sad. He doesn't..have to act..happy when he's sad..away from others.." _How would she know? It's just the dream, probably. _"Naruto-kun..was so lonely...ever since..I saw him the first time.." she said breathlessly, close to a whisper. "And I was..too. But I wanted..to make Naruto-kun..happy..because..I was lonely too.." Naruto's eyes went from surprise to soft affection. "Naruto-kun's not..alone anymore..in my arms.." Naruto's breath of air seemed to be lodged in his chest. His throat suddenly dried. In her arms? Despite only a moment passing, the strangling sensation passed, as he breathed harder than he should've for just laying near her. Naruto blinked down at Hinata, disbelievingly, a slight, cold sweat on the parts of his bared skin. _What is she dreaming? _"Naruto-kun.." she called out to him softly, asleep. He blinked down at her. "Naruto-kun.." he could see her smiling, truly happy. "Naruto-kun.." he finally realized she was trying to reach out in her sleep, but her bag confined her arms from raising more than a handful of inches.

His features softened, as he sat up and looked towards the door of the tent. His eyebrows slanted up in the middle, down at the outer parts. Cold air entered his chest quickly, and exited quickly. It was as if he was afraid to awaken Hinata from breathing too loudly, doing anything too loudly. But why..he could answer her call, but what about Sakura-chan? It'd be making a choice to let go of her and begin with someone else.

What exactly did he like about Sakura anyways? He kitted his eyebrows, thinking furiously for an answer. Forehead? Cute (even if she hated it) but nah. Pink Hair? Kinda unique but no. Her attitude? Well that's the worst part of her - at least the part that threatens his being. She was spunky, but couldn't stand him and was very prone to resorting to violence with freakish strength in order to make it clear to the blonde ninja that she didn't like him and could hardly stand just being his teammate. She wasn't the greatest ninja, she probably couldn't cook ramen.. Naruto smiled as he remembered it being offered to him in a castle..then he shook his head to stay on track. What was so special about Sakura when normally all she wanted to do was punch his lights out? Maybe it was just..infatuation..?

"Naruto-kun.." the persistent, gentle voice cooed again, still trying to reach out, smiling. Hazy on the inside, but numb on the lightly cold-sweat covered skin, as if in a dream inside of his mind, Naruto turned again onto his side facing Hinata, and slowly, scooted up to her until he was plush against her curved side. She made a pleased, 'mh,' as he snuggled against her, resting his forehead against her temple, breathing soft and slowly onto her neck. Hinata's arms lowered, then laid on the ground again. Naruto spread his top arm across her waist, not knowing what he was doing and rested it there. He felt warm..and lost himself quickly to the all too welcomed beckoning of sleep. _What's it matter anyways. I'm just..cold.._

"Mh.." the peaceful black melted from Hinata's mind. She felt very warm and comfortable, and rested. At peace with her mind and body, serenely pleased for no real reason in her mind, but driven by the addiction of comfortable sensation. She wanted to stay like this forever. She didn't want to open her eyes, she didn't want to have another day pass, she didn't want it all to change, even if it was to be with Naruto. Wait, she was with Naruto, and she couldn't waste such a great day! Hinata took in a deep breath, trying to ease the sleep out of herself. She groaned gently, as was her typical nature, stretching her arms above her head and out of her bag. Still trying to get her mind started, she laid there and put her arms down on top of her sleeping bag. Along the cool sensation of the soft fabric was a line across her arms, near her elbows. It was..a bit more rough and warm instead of cool, but still relaxing. Sitting up, she tilted her head down a bit to see what the object was. A panicked gasp escaped from deep inside her. Her heart began to rapidly beat inside of her small chest.

Looking down she saw Naruto, his arm wrapped across her waist, his head next to where her's had been still sleeping peacefully. All she could feel was heat radiate out of her, especially her face. Her chest tightened and clenched up. _Was this why..my dream was so..good?_ Breath eluded her, everything blurred, she felt light up top but heavy towards her legs. The threat of her sweet dreams returning to her so soon loomed in her mind.

"Mh.." Naruto winced, curling a bit, then laid on his back and stretched. The loss of contact from Naruto helped the elusive thoughts begin to return to the young girl, though she could still feel the wild, uncontrollable sensations of panic in her system. Naruto sniffed a couple of times, trying to wake up. Naruto immediately winced, grinding his teeth from a sharp pain in his shoulder. "Ittai ittai ittai.."

The flush drained from Hinata's face as she moved closer to Naruto, placing a hand near his on the tent floor. "Naruto-kun? Did you get stiff from sleeping cold?"

He grinned at Hinata, "Yeah, looks like it, but I'll manage," he beamed at her, rubbing the back of his head. Hinata ducked and looked at her feet when she realized how close she was to Naruto (again). Standing up, he rotated his shoulders and looked around for his normal 'ninja' garb. Hinata watched as Naruto exited the tent to give her privacy because he's not like Jiraiya, believe it!_ Not like his sensei... _she bit her knuckle, blushing hotly. It's true that he hadn't proved otherwise, but they were so close, touching all night..and there wouldn't have been anything wrong with him being like Jiraiya. Not with the kind of dream she had fleeting images of still in her mind..

Outside, Hinata stifled a giggle remembering the thoughts of Naruto struggling with their tent, as she folded it up for travel. Their forested path quickly devolved to barren, greyed, salt stained stone, winding along the wall of a cliff. The expansive, intimidating, glorious, blue ocean expanded below them, rolling about, always moving, always unpredictable.

Naruto stopped, looking out to the sea. He smiled once, a soft smile - a peaceful one. Hinata changed her gaze from him to the ocean. They stood there for minutes, the haughty Tsunade's demands forgotten. "Hinata-chan.."

Hinata jolted, and her cheeks became rosy as she waited on Naruto, eagerly. "Ye..yes..?"

He grinned at her with his eyes closed, and rubbed the back of his head. "I think the water reminds me of your eyes. Not the color just..the feeling..dattebayo.." Hinata was surprised to see Naruto become flustered and rosy for once. This was the hyperactive, overly confident, up-lifting boy she admired, infamous for doing the unexpected. She turned her eyes away, back towards the sea near the cliff's foot, flushing hotly herself.

After the awkward silence, they began again to go along the exposed trail. Every time Hinata gazed out to the sea, she'd hear Naruto's slightly husky voice tell her '..the ocean reminds me of your eyes,' with his honest and confident smile. _What's gotten into Naruto-kun..does he..? But what about Sakura-chan? I feel like I've improved so much already since our trip began, being around Naruto-kun by myself. Maybe..maybe I could ask him about her.. _"Na..Na..Naruto-kun...?"

"Ne..? What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto blinked at Hinata, surprised, but continuing their travels. The intense interest of Naruto made her bite her lip, becoming rosy._ I have to speak, I have to ask him.._she needed words to come out. She began to poke her index fingers together, it helped her a little.

"Ano..wha..whatever happened..to..to Sakura-chan.." she could feel herself deflating, "..and..you?"

"Huh? I didn't think you were into gossip, Hinata-chan." Hinata only began to tumble her fingers as well as poke them together. "Hm, well," Naruto frowned, looking over the sea. It helped him think better for some previously undiscovered reason. "I dunno. There never was exactly anything between us really, believe it. We still are kinda friends I guess," Naruto trailed off, thinking about how Sakura rarely wanted to do anything other than smash his face in. "I dunno, she's actually really uh..violent, believe it."

"Sakura-chan, violent?" Hinata blinked at Naruto, surprised at that enlightenment. Sakura's academy scores were mostly average, which wouldn't lead one to think of her as a real fighting type. Hinata had seen Sakura whack Naruto a couple of times harshly, but Naruto seemed to be implying a bit more than that.

"Yeah." Naruto bit his thumb, absentmindedly. "I really don't know. I mean she can be nice, and I guess it's nice to be friends. Well we kinda are..but I think she's made it clear like over a hundred times that she can barely stand that much. I guess I gave up on her. It's weird because I actually asked myself that same question the other night, eh heh heh." Naruto trailed off, rubbing the back of his head as he smiled. _Naruto-kun's free!_ "So...um..Hinata-chan.."

"Eh..?"_ Is he going to ask me out..? _Hinata was paralyzed, captivated by what may come. The short, quick gusts of breaths that entered her felt minty in her chest though lacked the taste.

"Ano..how are you about.." Naruto's eyes were a little wider than normal.

"Eh..eh..?" Hinata wasn't sure if she could hear Naruto anymore over the thunder of her heart.

"..about.." She continued to stare, not daring to take a breath incase she missed what he said.

"About this yourself?" Naruto pointed the tip of his pinky(1) at her like a lethal weapon, and swirled it in the air, at her face. "Are you having guy problems, Hinata-chan? Eh heh heh, I'm not the best person to ask advice from for these sort of things though on second thought, believe it. It's probably better to talk to a girl about it." Naruto grinned at her.

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata hung her head, then shook it. She couldn't ask him for advice about how to approach himself, could she?

"Oh. Mmrmm.." Naruto pursed his lips, turning attention back to their path they had been walking. "I would've figured such a cute girl like you would've been taken." Hinata fiddled with her forefingers to help her from fainting - it could be dangerous next to the exposed edge to the sea. "Then again, I always thought Sakura-chan was pretty cute and she's still single too. Hrm, actually all the girls of our class aren't taken, thinking of Ino.."

Hinata's neck, hands and face felt moist and cold. It wasn't from mist sprayed up by the crashing waves. _Oh no..what if Naruto-kun moves to..Ino..or..or Ten Ten, even if she's not in our class! _All of Hinata's hair stuck out stiffly, as if she had been shocked with electricity as she held her head in her hands, teeth gritted and eyes wider than comfortable. This new danger clutched at her chest, her muscles staying tight and unrelaxed. The rest of the path along the sea was filled with panic.

_Naruto was walking down the dark corridors of Hinata's mind, holding hands with an animated, blonde haired, blue eyed Ino, laughing as she continued to talk constantly. Warm water filled at the corners of Hinata's pearl eyes when she saw Ino stick a rose playfully behind Naruto's ear, as they laughed, then quieted, and leaned in for a kiss, eyes closed. They faded and were replaced with Ten Ten, feral and untamable looking who was sparring with Naruto. They were smirking at each other until they both collapsed panting and laid together. She felt the dull ache of her heart peel in half as she imagined Ten Ten resting her head on Naruto's chest. Intense jealousy stiffened her shoulders as Ten Ten looked up at innocent Naruto, staring up at the beloved blue skies, the older girl having that look in her eyes on the blonde ninja while splaying one of her hands across his chest.._

Hinata managed to not fall too far behind Naruto, though she was behind him the entire time, allowing him to be completely oblivious to the furious panic that was coursing through her mind. She turned her gaze to Naruto. Would he? He certainly seemed to be noticing her a lot, but..'_I actually asked myself that same question the other day' _rang in her mind. Maybe it was just because she was the only girl around him when he had decided to give up on Sakura.

"Oy, Hinata-chan." Naruto turned to her and energetically bounced a little, contrasting his companion. She came to an unsteady halt, downcast. "We're at the boarder of Grass country. Naruto motioned behind himself with his arm, where the barren ground eventually began to sprout stubborn bits of grass, until eventually they rose together in the distance, forming great, endless thickets of dense grass, some more than a couple meters high. "Ano.." Naruto's face drooped, like a message printed on a window that had been wetted. "Is there anything I should know about this place?"

Hinata blinked and cleared her distraught mind of her worrisome imagination. _Naruto-kun needs me.. _"Ano..we're traveling to the southern region of Grass country. There are many fierce beasts. Grass country is not just..grass..it's better to describe it as a plains swept region - or the area we're going to be in. Grass country has a very wide range of differing landscapes. Things like snakes, hyenas, lions, cheetah..they're all native to that kind of environment in the part of Grass country we will be going to." Naruto nodded, looking determined. It was a look she adored greatly, and somehow, her fears didn't return after that gesture. "Supposedly the nins in this region of the country are very territorial too. I heard they aren't like Konoha nins, they'll attack on sight and find out if they were wrong later.." Naruto looked concerned, but not afraid. Not that she'd expect him to be afraid after hearing something like that.

As she expected, he grinned at her and remarked confidently, "Well if they try anything, we'll give them something to remember before they run away, believe it. Ano.." his look melted to concern as he viewed the mid-afternoon sky. "How are we supposed to camp out here? There's so much..grass..I don't think you could take one step without it sprouting out from every direction around you, believe it."

"This..this is just the boarder, Naruto-kun. For the most part, these lands are a lot more sparse on plantation. After an hour or two of walking in, you'll see what I mean." In return to her explanation, Naruto gave an 'nh' as he nodded once and then followed her through the long, engulfing blades of grass.

Within a few moments, Naruto was quickly jerking his head around at every sound he thought he heard, being grass taller than he was dimmed his view to around a foot of vision in any direction. The distinct feeling that something was going to strike him from whatever direction he wasn't facing uneasily settled at his mid-back. "Hinata-chan, wait wait wait..!" He sprinted forward only to run into something solid mid-leap, and tangle with grass and Hinata, who emitted a surprised gasp. "Oh no, sorry, sorry! Just I can't see and it's making me really crazy.." Naruto gathered himself up as did his companion. "Ano.." Naruto bit his lip. Hinata turned and faced him, perplexed. "Ano I was thinking..you know..you have Byaakugan so you can see through all this kinda well."

"Ye..yes..I do..Naruto-kun.."

"Um..could we maybe hold hands so I don't trip over your feet or run into you again? I'd be really nervous if I was kinda wandering around blind.." Hinata gave a sharp intake of breath and raised her fingers to her lips, becoming rosy. _Naruto-kun wants to hold hands..? _"If it bothers you it's okay!" Naruto waved his arms in front of his chest enthusiastically. "I can try to get along.." Hinata couldn't bring herself to say anything, but quickly shook her head with her eyes closed, going from rosy to red. Naruto blinked, not sure if that meant she didn't want to touch him or if she didn't want him to wander around blindly. Remembering vividly her waking moments, she told herself_ I can do this, we were..much closer before.. _she clenched her eyes shut and launched out her small hand, tightly grasping Naruto's, who's face and posture immediately improved. "Eh heh heh, sorry for slowing you down again Hinata-chan.." Words wouldn't escape her. The breath caught inside her wouldn't either, so all she did was shake her head again a couple of times quickly, get up and lead Naruto through the grass, pulling him.

_Naruto-kun is depending on me..I have to do my best! _Hinata raised her free hand in front of her chest, fore finger and middle finger sticking up rigidly, together, her other fingers tucked in. _Byaakugan__**(2)**__! _Instantly the dull, grainy yellow that surrounded her faded to a light grey, then inverted its color slightly. Without giving a second look in any way, her view pushed forward, forward, forward..just grass. It came back to her and fanned around her. Grass, large rock, grass. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned her attention to mainly in front of them, but every ten seconds or so, fanning her view around them again. A large bird flew over them, heading the opposite direction they had come from. It might've been a hawk or a vulture, Hinata didn't look at it too well.

Despite not being able to see more than a couple of feet around him (thanks to Hinata pushing down more grass than he was previous in his vicinity), Naruto was much more at ease. He grinned to himself, a little flush surprisingly reaching his cheeks as he looked at Hinata's back. Sometimes she pulled him slightly to the side, and he could see the unusual concentration on her face. He remembered the Chuunin examines, when he first actually noticed Hinata. She had declared with the same determination she had now, what her nindo**(3)** was - his, word for word. It felt good being around someone who really liked you..

As the two youngsters delved deeper into the country, through the persistent grass, behind them, along the same trail they had taken burst out in a small, grey cloud with an almost cartoonish 'pop'. The large grey rock disappeared into the cloud, and when it fanned out, a squat, darkly tanned man was almost kneeling, hunched over. His brows were unkempt, as was the rest of his long, brown hair. He had lots of post-stubbly whiskers blanketing his cheeks, and a large, squashed nose. Straightening himself up, the man cast his electric, bright yellow eyes, black pupils slitted and catlike, up to the clear, blue skies, and though disturbing the grass in front of him in the process, silently raised his arm bent, so his fist went near his other shoulder. Stocky was a light way to say that this figure was extremely muscly. He seemed to radiate raw physical power, natural stealth and other bestial traits. The veins rippling the smooth texture of his forearms on his rocky muscles didn't burst as the sharp talons and surprising weight of a falcon added to the proffered arm.

This large bird of prey chirped a few times, single notes, each several seconds long and quivering, then shook its head animatedly. It then bent its head down, almost as if bowing, and nudged the top of it against the man's whiskers a couple of times. A soft smile came out of hiding from all the hair, across the man's wide face as he raised his free hand and with it almost completely splayed out, stroked the creature from its head to its tail, bending his fingers down to fit the contours of the majestic animal. Looking at it sternly as he continued to pet it, he murmered gutturally, "Fawns? Genin? Two?" The falcon turned its head and paused, so one of its eyes regarded the man's own eyes. It chirped once, again with a bob of its head. With the deep, bordering gravelly, growl like voice, he emitted a "See you," and with that, the bird, then the feral man took off their own ways, the man following the slightly indented grasses.

The grass seemed endless, but abruptly came down to their chest level after an our or so of pushing through, as Hinata had predicted. Dry heat pressed down on them, in a clear crisp, blue sky. Scanning the rolling hills to the horizon, shade seemed to be nonexistent. Far off near the edge of sight ahead were one or two gnarled, scraggly looking trees. Looking this way and that, Naruto sighed and grumbled, "It's so much hotter here than in the forest," sweat already glistening off his nose and forehead. Lowering his head to wipe it off with his free hand, he realized Hinata still clutched his other. He grinned at her, "Eh heh heh heh. Thanks a lot Hinata, that was a lot less worse than I thought it was gonna be, believe it."

She ducked slightly, and closed her eyes smiling radiantly, nodding. _Did I impress you, Naruto-kun..? _"Naruto-kun..we..we..should be able to reach the village between the Konoha and Grass country's capitols."

"Hm..that's good, I was kinda worried about how we'd sleep with those hyenas and such about," Naruto trailed off, looking at the ground. He could feel the bottom of his feet being moved ever so slightly, but the energy transferring through the ground to his feet rapidly increased. Alarmed and craning her neck slightly, Hinata began to scan this way and that, the veins around her temples and outer cheek bone still straining._ What..where..there! _Naruto felt her slide out of his hand, and turned to her. Before he could utter a word, he was swept off his feet as something small and soft rammed into his chest. He saw her little feet, and felt her slim arms wrap around him as he tilted back, floating away. Over her shoulder, the emblazoned bonfire looking symbol on her shoulder, a mass of grey, larger than both of them put together, no, twice their combined bodies, hurtled past them thundering.

As the storm faded away from them, Naruto fell flat on his back, breathless, and that soft something covered him, fitting perfectly. As the two drew a few confused breaths,they looked up from wincing to see their position. Naruto's bright, blue eyes raised to meet and lock with Hinata's soft, opaque, lavender ones. Hinata started with a jerk, glowing a new shade of red for her since they began their journey. She quickly got off Naruto in one motion, and began poking her fingers together (she had to do anything to help herself), mouth moving but words failing to come out. _Na..Naruto-kun..I'm sorry...I.._

Hinata's train of thoughts crashed as Naruto loudly exhaled a 'wow,' and sat up, smiling at her open mouthed. "Hinata-chan you saved us! What was that though..." his attention as quickly and intensely as it had been focused on her, moved away, searching for the source. Hinata felt herself become more breathless. Her vision swam, dreams of what may, should come reaching their clutches up to her neck and heart. "A rhino? Aren't they supposed to be tame normally?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, eyes closed, with that look of stern concentration.

"Hu-huh? Ye-yes...I..I don't think they're supposed to be..hostile to people..." Hinata managed to squeeze out of her lips. Hinata, red fading to rose, stood up and searched her line of sight. There was the rhinoceros, a fair sprint ahead placidly uprooting a tough, woody shrub from the earth and grinding it in its mouth, snorting. _If it wasn't attacking us..then..shimatta!_**(4)** "Naruto-kun!" she grabbed his shoulder, trying to lift him. He understood what she wanted, though not why, and leapt backwards, away from the tall grasses, her hands still on his shoulder. As they landed on the scorched earth, grass becoming sparse at their feet, the sound of an inhuman, predatory growl filled their bodies. The army of reeds slightly parted, revealing the large, dark nose of a huge cat, the slight amount of fur exposed to them, low to the ground, matching the color of its surrounding except for the fat black blob in between inhumanly wide, glowing eyes.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched nervously. He tried to give his hearty chuckle, but it came out as a faint call of its usual self. "Ho-how far a-away is that village..?" All his muscles were tensed to run.

"Close," two hands laid down on either of the teenager's shoulders, weighing like a stack of rocks. The voice was almost inhumanly deep and primal. They slowly turned to see the shadow of a man the same height as them, but dark and rugged, the outline of his cheeks telling them his face was fuzzy, his free, long hair hanging near his elbows. Nothing covered his sinewy upper torso other than the strands of hair trailing from his scalp. The man's eyes glowed softly, but were hard to see in the shadow cast over his front, just underneath a broad rimmed hat. Wrapped around his neck in a similar fashion to Hinata was the 'forehead protector', but it was snug against his throat instead of lying along the collar bone. On the shaded plate was the image of three curved lines, circular towards the bottom but angled to a single sharp point for each line, much like three blades of grass.

"Who-?"

"How-?"

Both felt sharp pains between their necks and shoulders making their bodies tense, and as quickly as it had came, it disappeared as their worlds melted into engulfing, oppressing black. Naruto's senses swam, comprehension eluded him, staying just out of reach. He couldn't tell what he smelt, the blurred images in his head wouldn't clear or stay still for that matter, he wasn't aware of feeling anything. Sound attacked him in a muffled manner, but it was alien to his mind. It was dark, dusky, not quite night yet. A few stars were bold enough to show themselves proudly in the sky, but for the most part, night had not decided to follow behind the soft purple quite yet. His eyes fluttered, and everything at once seemed to come together: sight, smell, sound, feeling (an ever present but dull ache at the back of his mind), and the taste of having been asleep a long while. Naruto sluggishly pulled himself up to a sitting position. Next to him he saw Hinata still sleeping soundly. Turning his head from left to right, he found himself in the jagged confines of many large, cone shaped objects, ten-fifteen feet tall. At least the portions of themselves that were wrapped in what appeared to be leather. Many sported what looked like finger-paint designs and objects, mainly different prairie animals.

He almost missed it, but nearly behind him he saw the outline of a squat figure near his own height had he been standing, sporting a hat whose brim was broad and reached all around its base, and a somewhat taller, far more slender figure standing near him. The slender figure had shoulder-length, wavy hair that curled halfway up and out at the ends. A lot of it cascaded over his face, keeping clear the left half but covering the right for the most part, including the eye and partially right half of his lips. Soft murmuring reached his ears, but undecipherable. He started with a jolt of realization. They were holding papers, papers that looked like the ones they had been given by Obaachan. Papers they seemed to take quick glances off of or gesture to specific parts sometimes. _Sorry Hinata-chan. _Naruto reached over to his smiling, peaceful companion and began to shake her gently, hand contacting her shoulder.

"m..mmh..Naruto-kun.." she stirred, and with her soft, gentle breaths, came too. Soft pink spread across her cheekbones as the first thing that came into focus of her lavender eyes was the boy she admired, bright blue eyes looking at her concerned. She sat up, the sleepiness draining from her being. "Where..where are..we, Naruto-kun? Wha..what..happened?" she asked hesitantly.

Naruto took a breath to whisper something as he looked over his shoulder again. His muscles tightened and locked up - the two figures were gone. He quickly turned back to Hinata and.. "Dyah!" he almost fell onto his back, taking a quick scoot away. She followed his gaze to just over her shoulder and also gave a panicked gasp, turning to face what was in her view while scooting over next to Naruto, moving backwards herself.

The man with a wide face was now wearing a long, unbuttoned, London fogger. Though out of place, the light grey coat seemed to fit him well - the tail near his ankles but not touching the ground, the popped collar reaching near the ridge of his cheekbones. The sleeves of his coat had apparently been ripped unevenly away at the shoulder regions of his coat, giving frayed edges. With an unemotional face, he squatted down so he was at their level, took an inhumanly deep breath and exhaled, looking at the ground. Raising his uneven, thick, clumpy eyebrows with his gaze, he looked at the children and held out the papers. He was so bulky, he looked reminiscent to a rock. Hinata let out a surprised, short gasp and pointed at the man's face. "Na-Naruto-kun, his eyes..! They..they're like an animal's..!"

Naruto raised his eyes to the man's, who still seemed stoney in every aspect from the face down. He extended his arm a little more, raising his cat like eyes as he tilted his head forward a bit, offering them their papers. Naruto hesitantly reached over and slowly, ready for the man to pounce on him like a beast and took them from him. The surface at the corners of the man's eyes crinkled as he beamed at the two, eyes closing to slit shapes, taking off his broad rimmed hat and rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He moved very slowly, like a large, lazy animal that didn't feel like acting very capable of what it actually was. His demeanor seemed guilty. His canines were the longest and sharpest the children had ever seen before on a man. He chuckled, sort of - more like punctuated exhalations through his nostrils without any use of his vocal cords. He looked like he was having a slow coughing fit and was quite delighted about it.

"Ano..thank you..?" Naruto let out like a probe. The man lessened his grin to a smile, looking at them with his radiating eyes.

"Sorry," he let out slowly, as if using words was something he hadn't ever really done before, both syllables being stretched far more than enough. He stood, in a slow, lazy manner, and strode over to them. The children tensed, but didn't move away. Still smiling, he ruffled Naruto's spiky hair, then mussed Hinata's purple hair. He held out his hands, offering to help them up. Once they grabbed a hold, he effortlessly raised them both a foot too high, then set them down roughly on their own two feet so that their knees buckled slightly. His hands had been tough, leathery, full of solid muscle. They blinked at him, not exactly sure what to do. "Grass country," again with his primal, nearly inhuman sounding voice he told them. He sounded the words out slowly, as if he had to make sure they heard each syllable. He gestured by spanning from one shoulder to straight out with one arm. Then he brought his extended hand to his heart. "Bakudan Seiya**(4)**. Watcher." He slowly informed them, turning his open fingers into a mallet-like fist as he sounded out 'watcher.'

"Baku!" They heard a young voice call out. He turned to their sides and his crinkled smile came again, as a little girl half their size, with her long black hair pulled back in a braided pony tail ran up and jumped on him, clinging to his barrel-like frame with her arms spread across his stomach. He fondly petted her head, still with the crinkled smiled. "How, Baku!" she chimed.

"Oweishita nihounju xermieu** (5)**," he said, in the same gravelly, slowly pronouncing voice.

"Nahadame zetzet," she answered happily, grinning up at him. The mass she was clinging to rumbled off a short, soft chuckle, shaking him slightly and the girl much.

Naruto smiled softly. _He looks like a good guy. _He cast his gaze over to Hinata who was smiling behind her hand, watching quietly.

The man turned his sharp, yellow eyes to the two foreigners. "Konohanin?" He touched his collar's plate curiously, waiting for confirmation. It was tied snugly to his neck, reminiscent to a collar on an animal. Naruto only blinked but Hinata nodded affirmatively. He looked at them evenly and touched his heart again. "Kusanin."

In her hesitant voice, Hinata let out, "Ano..Kusakage..?" trying to communicate.

Bakudan looked at her, thinking. He pointed at the sunset, then moved his arm over his head the opposite direction in an arc. Then pointed to himself, then to the two children and nodded, looking hopefully at them. Naruto stood slouched, slack jawed, and lost. Hinata bit her forefinger's knuckle, thinking. She turned to her hapless companion. "Naruto-kun, I..I think he wants us to wait until morning, then he'll take us there. I..I'm not sure..it's just..a guess.." she faltered, her fingers fighting each other halfheartedly.

Naruto blinked his blue eyes at her, then grinned and said, "Yeah, now that you mention it I guess that does seem like what he was trying to say. At first I thought he was going on about night-time ramen for the three of us. Hinata hung her head._ Naruto-kun.. _"Eh heh heh heh." Naruto's countenance went from boyish to serious as he made eye contact with Bakudan and nodded. The man returned the nod, and gingerly stalked off, silent, trying not to lose his rider but apparently also not trying to make any noises. The two Konoha shinobi looked at each other. Hinata shortly reddened and turned her gaze to the bottom of a nearby tee-pee.

After a few minutes of Hinata blushing steadily more, and Naruto rubbing the back of his head with his eyes closed, Bakudan returned with his slow, dainty, graceful, silent stalking pace. He motioned with his hand for the two to follow. Obediently they did, winding through the valley of hides. Eventually he stopped behind one, particularly coated with paintings of many different animals. He smiled and pushed open the flap, waiting for them. As he held it open, they could see into the opening of his coat in the dusky light. He had a necklace with beads and animal teeth on the front half of it, a large, curved, vicious looking knife proudly hung at the center of his rocky chest. The arced blade must've been eight inches from hilt to tip. He also seemed to be carrying a bundle of tomahawks**(6) **at his right hip, attached in a way that hung them in a splayed manner, all the coarse cloth-wrapped handles sticking out in a circular fashion from each other. Hinata hesitantly entered, and Naruto followed close behind. He felt heat on his own face, with Hinata's curves right in front of him. The flap closed behind them, Bakudan had not followed. Realizing this, Hinata tensed up, heat radiating off her body, particularly her face. Naruto stretched, then sprawled out on the furs and passed out. After several moments, Hinata approached the dozing Naruto, crawling cautiously over. He had definitely fallen asleep within ten seconds of them being all alone in a small space..

She remembered waking up this morning, barely able to breath and why. She curled up to the young boy, her heart stopping for a moment, and rested her head on his shoulder. She placed her hand on his stomach and fell asleep happier than she ever had before.

**Author's Notes**

**(1) In Japanese culture, holding out the pinky is to represent a significant other or having an intimate relationship. Further explaination is linked on the author's profile.**

**(2) 'White Eyes'**

**(3) 'Way of the ninja'**

**(4) Author's Note: '(oh) damn'**

**(5) Author's Note: Original Character**

**(6) Author's Note: this is just gibberish that I hope looks like Native American speech. Don't try to translate it, you'll hurt your head.**

**(7) Throwing axes. These tend to be over a foot in length from bottom to top, but not more than two feet known for being used in melee and war in general by Native Americans.**


	4. Chp 4: An Immodest Proposal

The memories of the last day flowed through Naruto's mind as he marched away from Grass village, back the way he had come with Hinata. It all reminded him of his dream the day he had received his mission to come out here, the one that had started out with him having to make a life changing decision at a fork in the road. _I wonder if that dream was a prediction._

_"Naruto and Hinata," the sagely voice rang inside of his head. 'the spirits smile upon you, but it is a brief passing.'_

_"What? That's a really weird way to say 'hello' to someone, believe it!" Naruto had blurted at the old, shamanistic, leathered man. Like the young girl who had clung to Baku, he had timeless, black hair, pulled back and braided decoratively in design as well as with multicolored bead covered strings. He only smiled, and readjusted his cross-legged position using his highly decorated spirit rattle, which looked more like a scepter if anything. Many different strands of leather coated in different, brightly colored beads hung from various parts of the wooden rod. The pattern etched and painted on the hand-held staff itself was intricate and wonderful._

_"Ho ho ho," chuckled the small man in his memories._

_"Naruto-kun! That may be okay for Tsunade but the Kusakage(1) is a stranger!"_

_The small, seated man laughed goodnaturedly again. "Oh, no. I'm afraid we're not strangers. I have spoken with the great fox spirit many times, in this life and past, and will again in lives to come." he smiled at them. Naruto had been completely shaken - Hinata was one of the few who didn't know! She didn't know! Fear had gripped him as he cast his gaze worriedly at her, but she didn't seem to understand the meaning. "As I have spoken with many other great spirits. They smile upon you now, but weep for you soon."_

_"Ano..enough weird talk..here're some papers from Obaach er..Hokage-sama(2)." Naruto had held out the communications to the Kusakage. When he did not accept them, both of the children looked at him quizzically._

_"I have already been told what your old but youthful leader wanted to say. More importantly, I saw what she didn't want to say. Her dreams, they are troubled, young ones. She needs her children to stay. The pain of one leaving pierces her heart.. But the pain of another leaving because of it will break her's." Naruto stood shocked, absorbing every word. He could not have known about Sasuke without reading the papers, impossible. "You will be faced with a choice, a fork in the road of the path to your life. One way will be the way you have walked many times. One decision will reunite you with your brother of heart, but doing so will make you lose the other half of your heart. You can not try to reach and have both at the same time, it is the way your circle of life is. The spirits weep because they know what path you have always taken. You've never made the other choice, found yourself wholesome, because they price you had to pay was losing this precious person to you." The Kusakage reached over and brought up a long, hollow, decorated pipe, similar to the rattle he had, and closed his eyes. He looked as if his heart was heavy, as if the weight of the life of the young boy in front of him rested on his shoulders._

_Naruto frowned with his eyes closed. 'This isn't real. He can't know everything before hand. If he wants me to believe this, then we should do something like I'd pick a number and he'd guess or something,' Naruto thought to himself, disgruntled._

_"Eight," the small man exhaled a heavy puff of blue-grey smoke.. Naruto looked at the man, lost. "Eight is the number you usually pick because you would say at this point, had I not interrupted your train of thought, 'I don't believe this at all. I'll put you to the test, believe it ojii-san. I'll think of a number and you'll guess if it's right.' The number you typically choose is eight, your favorite number." After a short pause to inhale more of the haze, he added while releasing the dancing clouds, "you like the way it sounds out of all the numbers best. And once you've made up your mind about something, you don't go back on your word, dattebayo.." and he chuckled._

_"Hrgrcknnn" Naruto winced like he was having an aneurism. The Kusakage turned to Hinata and smiled friendly, "I believe I was told that it's also your nindo as well as his."_

The memory faded as they reached salty air, and the Kusakage's last words echoed in his mind, _'you will have a choice to find your brother spirit, or find true happiness. But you cannot try to have both. Watch for the fork in the road. And don't panic when you climb back down, there will be a ledge below you.' _Naruto had only shrugged, this whole ordeal creeping him out. He didn't like ghosts (though he never told anyone), and this guy was king of the spirits or something. Naruto muttered to himself as Baku waited at the foot of the high spirit plateau. Naruto cautiously lowered himself when the rock he had placed his lowest foot to continue traveling down crumbled, then the rocks his hands were gripping from the sudden change of weight. Flapping his arms and legs wildly, he looked up at Hinata who was unfortunately several feet too far away to grab him. She had gasped, and not dared to breath as she strained herself to reach for him. She was nowhere near his floundering arms though. He felt his weight release, and stomach go up into his throat, the image of Hinata's widened, pale, lavender orbs moving away. Turning to face the rapidly growing earth, he saw Baku hold out his arms to catch himself, but the drop would surely kill one of them on impact. Naruto guessed himself after thinking about the densely packed nin below. His skin felt chilled as he knew his life was on the line. He began to make hand seals as he plummeted for his summoning technique. It would be a disaster - a good chunk of the spirit plateau would be destroyed and maybe Konoha's relationship with Kusa with this summon, after the way his diplomacy had went. The Frog boss Gamabunta was loud, rude, and his entrances were very destructive. _A-re?_ 'Gyack!' Naruto laid feeling flat as a pancake, stuck on a ledge that had blended in very well with the rest of the cliff as well as from the blurriness of him falling.

"Che..**(3)**" Naruto almost spat. Well at least it wasn't so bad. They had met Bakudan (apparently Hinata did not meet him last time), and he was cool and super nice. He had escorted them to the skirts of the tall grass where they had originally met, and waved with his crinkled smile to the children as they returned the gesture. Hinata stepped into the enveloping grass, squeezing Naruto's hand subconsciously. Naruto stepped in with one leg, and looked over his shoulder one last time to see Baku. All that met his gaze though was the emptiness of the dried dirt, a single breeze passing by.

_Naruto-kun..is he worried about what Kusakage had told him? _Hinata fretfully stayed a couple of steps behind Naruto, watching his pensive and brooding mood. _He..he thinks of Sasuke as his brother..and he wants to find him so bad.._the memory of Naruto's outburst at their mission briefing resonated inside her head. _"Tsunade ObAAAAAchan! What do you want today? Huh? Huh? It had better be a super A rank mission to bring back Sasuke! If not I'm going anyways, believe it!" _She worried, and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Huh? Oh, Hinata-chan what's wrong?" Naruto blinked at her. Breath quickening, trying to escape her, she shook her head.

"No..nothing Naruto-kun.." He smiled at her and waited so she would catch up to him and they could continue side by side. This caused the young maiden to flush and whimper softly.

"Hm..hey Hinata-chan, I dunno how long it'll be before we go on another mission together again." Her head hung. "It's been a lot of fun, you showed you were a lot stronger than I had thought at first, believe it." He beamed at her look of surprise, which quickly melted back to timidness. "I still thought you were really strong though from when I saw you fight Neji at the Chuunin exams, believe it." she could feel her stomach tickling in a good way, and she poked her fingers together, trying to help ease her nerves. "I think I kinda got in the way the entire time, even when we finally got to creepy ojii-san**(4)**." he muttered.

"No Naruto-kun!" she protested, all the rosiness fading away. He chuckled.

"Well as long as you don't see it that way, no use arguing." she sighed, relieved. "I'm glad we were able to get a lot closer than we have been before, it was great becoming actual friends with you!" he beamed at Hinata, who turned her deepest shade red so far. "Eh heh heh. Anyways sorry for being so quiet on the way back..I was just thinking all this time how to ask.."

"Eh..?" Hinata could hear her heart thumping rhythmically in her ears, feeling each excessively strong beat in her chest.

"It's just that I.."

"Eh..? Eh..?" Her face slightly increased its heat.

"I was wonder if the wholesome thing ojii-san mentioned..you think it means.."

"Eh?" her heart raced in her little chest, defeaning in her ears.

"That if I choose that I'll get to eat freshly made ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner all the time? That might be worth seeing if Sasuke comes back on his own, ne?"

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata hung her head.

"Hrm, guess that's a 'no' huh?" Naruto pursed his lips, disappointed.

"Is..is that..what..would make Na..Naruto-kun happiest..?" she asked glumly.

"Hm.." Naruto knitted his brows, closed his eyes, lowered his head and thought long and hard. Hinata covered her mouth with the side of her hand to suppress a giggle from the look, forgetting the uneasiness that had just gripped her at anticipating what his question would be. "Ramen is my favorite food, believe it. And it would make me very happy..but would it make me happiest..?" Naruto gazed up at the sky, still concentrating on such an important question. He stopped, and Hinata, puzzled and intrigued, followed his action. "I think it would make me happy, but I can't seem to get what ojii-san said, and it's stuck in my head. As much as I like ramen, I don't think it would make me whole. That..sounds like something that..that another person's supposed to do to someone. Through love, what do you think, Hinata-chan?"

"Na..Naruto..ku..kun.." she fought hard to keep her shallow breathing constant. Poking her fingers together, yes, that would help a little. "I...I think..you..you're right..lo-love between two people.." her voice lowered from its normal, soft manner to just above a whisper, "..makes them..complete..when it's the right two people.." her head must've been steaming. She was blushing her fiercest so far, but without fainting miraculously. _Naruto-kun, I know you're that for me. Just having watched you from afar, I was able to become more whole, change, no, become what I was supposed to be. When I was finally able to talk to you about how I felt at the Chuunin exams, I was so happy about that change. And..our time together on this mission has helped me even more so. I know you'd make me complete..Naruto-kun.._

"Hmm..." Naruto twisted his lips, then nodded once, enthusiastically but without the boyish attitude. "I've decided! You're right, believe it! I think that's what would make me happiest, not having ramen for every meal every day dattebayo. I wonder who though," Naruto muttered. "I really don't think it's Sakura-chan anymore, believe it." he also muttered before trailing off.

As they had been told to, the two reported immediately to Tsunade. The stern woman smiled at Hinata, then glared at Naruto after they had reported success. He merely made an irritated gesture, hands folded behind his head. She in turn, sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Naruto," she began, stern but not scolding or angry. Her tone was as if she was about to give him a mission.

"Huh?"

"I hope you've worked on your appreciative skills and manners. I approached Jiraiya while you were away and proposed to him to take you and train the next three years - to finish before Orochimaru can switch from his current vessel to Sasuke."

"Obaachan! You managed to do that with Ero-senin**(5)**!" Naruto was floored, he ran up to her desk and put his palms on it, his face only a foot away from her's.

Tsunade folded her hands in front of her mouth, and gazing over them at Naruto, nodded. "Believe me, it wasn't easy. I basically let these," she broke her hands apart and made them into fists, shaking them a bit, before returning them to their old positions, "do all the talking. He gave in earlier today actually." Naruto continued his astonished look at Tsunade, full of excitement. Hinata put her hand on her heart, as if she could hold back the dull but large and very present ache in her heart. The room tilted by her awkwardly as she gazed wide eyed at the strangely happy nin and stoic lady._ Naruto-kun will be gone..for three years..? _"When you return and your training is complete, I'm going to promote you to Chuunin rank as well."

"Wow really!" Naruto almost yelled with the boyish enthusiasm so typical of him.

"Typically the Chuunin exam is held twice a year. You will be absent for six and receiving training and skills that should put you beyond entry-level Chuunin talent anyways. It only makes sense. While you're away, we'll need everyone to pitch in but when you return, I'd be able to have another Chuunin as opposed to a Genin." At mention of this, Naruto's beaming dulled._ I see, Ojiisan._

"Go get prepared for your journey. Dismissed. Hinata-"

"I'm not going."

The women stared at Naruto, was he being impersonated - very poorly?

"Naruto, don't play games," Tsunade's tone threatened that her mood would elevate to the next level of anger which involved lots of loud noises and pain.

"I..I can't go." Tsunade's face lost the temper it had been building. "I can't go and burden everyone else. It's true, I do want Sasuke to come home more than anything. If I could, I would beat it into him that there's no point achieving revenge with nothing to live for afterwards. To give up your soul and body, believe it. But.." Hinata watched, unable to even think, hand still at her heart. "When I met Sasuke last time, I had the chance to bring him back. I tried everything - I begged him, I threatened him, I tried to reason with him. I even declared, 'I'll bring you back even if I have to break your arms and legs, believe it!' But in the end I couldn't. It's not because I couldn't defeat him, it's because it's a choice he has to come around to making on his own, I really believe that." Naruto said soberly. Tsunade could only blink at him with her orange gaze, wide eyed, still in shock and disbelief. "Even if I trained, defeated him, dragged him back..what's the use if the only way to keep him here is to have him locked up in a room? His heart has to let go of the desire for revenge, his heart has to desire other things." Naruto smiled slightly, looking beyond Tsunade at the purpled, blued, oranged and red sky, the setting sun amongst the lazy clouds.

"This last mission I had, I learned a lot. I grew a lot stronger, here and here," Naruto tapped his heart, then his temple. "After talking with Hinata-chan a lot, I realized what exactly my dreams were - they're what push me to be who I am, do the things I do, try to accomplish the things I want. And it's the same for Sasuke. I can't beat him up to change his dream, he has to change it on his own. The Kusakage also helped me realize, just now believe it, that bringing Sasuke back against his will is not going to make me happy, or..complete." Naruto lowered his gaze from the setting sun to Tsunade's youthful and beautiful face. "Going away for three years, taking a really strong shinobi like Ero-senin with me, leaving everyone else to pick up the slack - it's just too selfish for a hopeless cause. I'll stay here, I'll do the missions so others don't have to, I'll get stronger and become a Chuunin anyways - I don't need it handed to me." _Naruto-kun..._Hinata smiled at him radiantly, breathlessly, lips parted and hand over her heart still. "and maybe..maybe Sasuke will wake up on his own and return. I woke up on my last journey and found out what exactly my current dreams were. There's no other way, for all that it costs.." Naruto's voice changed from reflective to slightly husky and harsh, "If I trained for three years, I'm going to go kill Sasuke, believe it." Tsunade's lips parted a bit in surprise ontop of all the shock she already had. "There's no other reason, nothing else can be accomplished by doing that."

"...Naruto.." Tsunade managed to finally say, after a long time of silence and Naruto with his back turned, looking at the floor. Tsunade pushed her chair back, getting up, still numb. She went over to the little nin and put her arms around him, embracing him, and closing her eyes, kissed the top of his head. "I know how much it meant to you to try to bring him back, to have the chance at least. I know how much you want him to be here again, Naruto." In Tsunade's mind, her actions earlier that day in this very office flowed through, choking her up with a dull ache at her neck and heart.

_"Jiraiya, you're going to take Naruto away for three years and train him. I don't care where you go, or what you do as long as you make that kid much stronger than he is now."_

_"Tutt," Jiraiya moved his head irritably which tosses his long, grey hair as he looked away with his arms on his hips, sticking out his broad chest. "That's some demand, what makes you think I'd waste three years I could've been creating the next Icha-Icha Paradise training that no-talent kid?' He folded his arms, glowering at the Hokage. Then he shouted in his masculine voice, 'I trained him how to do the summoning technique for a month, and it took a life or death situation for him to actually accomplish his first summon! He's a waste of time."_

_"Jiraiya.." Tsunade clenched her teeth and scrunched up her eyes, beginning to get up. "You know better than I do Naruto's dreams to be Hokage, and why. He wants to protect everyone in this village so much, every last one of them." Tsunade's voice shook as the threat of tears stung her eyes, because it reminded her of her two precious people who had the same dream and were now gone. "You know better than I do how precious his few friends are, and you won't help him to bring back his best friend!" She had had it, and slammed her palm on the desk, making it creak dangerously._

_"Beating the crap out of Uchiha will not bring him back. Even if we managed to drag his near-lifeless body to Konoha, he'll just leave again when he gets better. This is a decision he has to make on his own, Tsunade." Jiraiya's glower softened to just an irritated, sagely stare. "We could kill him, but..I'd guess that's __**not **__Naruto's wish.."_

_"But you still would not do this for Naruto?" Tsunade was dangerously close to begging. "You wouldn't make the effort to at least give him what he thinks is the chance to bring his best friend, one of his only friends back? You'd just take away his dream like that? You're the closest thing he has to a father!" Her voice had elevated to near crying._

_"..che.." Jiraiya tossed his head again. After a long, brooding moment, he hunched his shoulders a bit with his eyes closed. "Three years is a long time, I'll go for three weeks or it's a no-go."_

_Tsunade exploded, rising in the likeness and size of Godzilla in front of Jiraiya. "You're going for three years or I'll grind your penis and testicles into paste!" she threatened him, along with her veined fist in front of her chest._

_Jiraiya lost his composure and took a stance that suggested he was considering a path of flight while standing there, "Eh heh heh heh.." quickly looking around for something to hide behind. His face was shot into the ground as Tsunade blasted the top of his head with her fist._

_"Let that be a warning to you! If you fucking goof around and chase tail instead of train up Naruto just this once, just for three years, I'll kill you, Jiraiya! Now leave, and be ready to come back later tonight!" and with that, she effortlessly peeled his limp body off the ground, which had a Jiraiya imprint on it, lifted him and even for herself, placed a massive kick to the ass to send him flying out the hall and Hokage building._

"You truly have grown up so much, Naruto." Tsunade sniffed, looking down at him with those rare, tender eyes." He smiled back, pained, but knowing in the back of the mind he was right. And that he had made a promise he could not keep. _Sakura-chan..what can I do.._

**Author's Notes**

**(1) 'Grass Shadow.' In the world of Naruto, ninja are broken up into ranks depending on talent and other factors. The highest is 'Kage.'**

**(2) This additive is used for a lot of respect. 'Dono' is a higher respecting additive but the author has rarely ever seen it used, maybe it's an outdated title.**

**(3) A sound typically made when one is irritated.**

**(4) 'Grandpa' or 'gramps.'**

**(5) 'Perverted Hermit'**


	5. CHp 5: Flirting Paradise

Tsunade smiled fondly at Naruto, backing away a couple of steps. He turned and grinned at her with his eyes closed, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh heh heh heh.."

" Naruto-kun!" Something soft, warm and small threw itself against his back, and slender arms latched around him, under his arms, near the bottom of his rib cage.

"Hinata-chan.." Naruto tried to look at her blushing, happiest face yet, but it was hidden, buried behind his shoulder.

"Oh? I'm very glad to see I'm not the only one who approves of this - and acknowledges the logic." A somewhat deep, masculine, elderly man's voice called out from Tsunade's office doors. Jiraiya's arms were akimbo, fists balled at his hips. He looked highly amused - and relieved. This man despite his age (early fifties), was in great physical form - fair muscles showing lots of physical activity, a broad chest, head lacking a receding hairline and face with two red streaks drooping from the bottom of his eyes down to his jawline, showing no wrinkles or other obvious tell-tale signs of aging. His cheekbones had become more prominent but if you hadn't known him in his youth, you wouldn't know it was from growing old.

"Eh heh, sorry for letting you down like that, Ero-senin," Naruto waved at his sensei.

As was his way, Jiraiya emphasized his next word, "**Nonsense**, Naruto. If anything I'm happy you matured enough to see that your previous dream was useless, and decided to stay - for the best of everyone. You don't know how grateful everyone will be because it'll allow me to work uninhibited on my next volume of Icha Icha Paradise!" Jiraiya said especially enthusiastically towards the end, bringing up his fist at his chest.

"Baka!" spat Tsunade at Jiraiya. "You're still going to train Naruto every day he's here and free, don't you dare think this is going to allow you to lounge around, peeping at everyone and making obscene doodles for your next 'book'!" Jiraiya smirked at Tsunade, his lips favoring the mole side and folded his arms across his broad chest. This caused her to stretch taller, with whitened, emphasized wide eyes as she shook her fist, "I'll keep my promise on what I'm going to do to you if you don't train Naruto!" Jiraiya shrank accordingly.

"Alright, alright," he admitted defeat. "Just as long as we don't have to go away and be together all by ourselves for a few years. Aaaand I get to make great headway on my next book.." Jiraiya's features drooped while he grinned open mouthed to himself, drooling.

Naruto laughed at the two. Tsunade turned on him slowly, joints popping from stiffness and muscle strain. Her look was the stuff of nightmares._ Uh oh.. _"Naruto, would you please excuse yourself and Hinata? I think your next mission can wait until tomorrow while I straighten this stubborn asshole out." Without saying a word, Naruto and Hinata scooted out the office and hurried out the building. Tsunade never swore.

Outside, Hinata and Naruto shared lots of laughter until it trailed off, and then Hinata looked away, over the edge of the cliff, blushing madly. She remembered vividly what she had just done to Naruto infront of Tsunade and Jiraiya. She had gotten a lot bolder..

"Na..Naruto-kun.." Hinata said with head ducked in her shoulders. "I..I should go see my father right away.."

Naruto smiled and waved good night to his friend. She turned and sped away, but heard him call, "See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan!" She didn't stop running until she got to the Hyuuga estate, which was much like a small castle. On its grand doors, she rested her back, panting, staring up at the night sky. This last week had been heaven for her. She had almost died when Tsunade wanted Naruto to leave for three years. But Naruto had stayed! Would she be able to..

Naruto lay on his bed. Had he made the right choice? How could he make this up to Sakura - would she even understand why he couldn't bring Sasuke back? He would bring Sasuke back though one way or another. He just needed time to think about the things Naruto had said to him the last time they had met..he'd come around, believe it. If he took too damn long to come around to the right choice on his own, maybe Naruto really would have to just stomp over and beat him senseless.. But what adventures would he miss out on because he had decided to stay here? Life is so full of possibilities...Naruto turned to look out the night filled window, a gentle breeze pushing through it.

The frame filled with the squatting figure of a grey-haired, masked man wearing a green Chuunin/Jounin vest. His hair stuck up diagonally, and was stiff.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto sat up. His team leader crinkled his exposed eye, and brought an arm from out of view around him. Naruto felt annoyance instantly hit him when he saw what the jounin was carrying in his lap, rested against his stomach.

His sensei opened his eye, and Naruto was startled to see a dull, grey ring hinting underneath his drooping eye. With an 'oof,' he came to realize that Kakashi had thrown the basket full of fruits and vegetables on top of his chest. Apologetically, Kakashi said, "Well, sorry for not really being around lately, Naruto. Hokage-sama seems very fond of putting me on A and B ranked missions, I've hardly even slept. I have to go meet with her immediately actually, but I thought I'd give you those for good measure. You'll die if you only eat ramen, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and nodded with an 'nh,' causing mild surprise to spread through Kakashi. "I decided to try new things towards the end of my last mission, Kakashi-sensei. I'll give these fruits and veggies a shot, at least try the entire basket, believe it!" He grinned at Kakashi who smiled again and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm glad to hear that Naruto. Your diet really worried me..well, see you when things slow down, hopefully soon." Kakashi turned and tensed to hop off. His equipment pack got stuck on Naruto's window frame, tilting it, and causing a small, hand-sized book to begin to fall out towards the inside of Naruto's room. Before it even contacted anything, the shinobi had disappeared.

_Huh..it's that book Kakashi-sensei is always reading and that Ero-senin wrote. What's so great about it anyways..? _Naruto picked it up and looked at the cover. A man was chasing a giggling woman under the bold title, 'Icha Icha Paradise.' Naruto turned it over to look at the back. A small paragraph dawdled on about what a great book it was, and underneath it, the same man was running from the woman, who looked like she was threatening him with her purse. _Well, I did say I'd try new things.. _Reading was not one of Naruto's strong points. Naruto swallowed, braced himself and opened to the first page..

_Huh..it's a manga(1)..? _Naruto gazed down at the comic book layout of the small, hand-held story. "Baka!" spat Tsunade at Jiraiya, in Naruto's head. _"...don't you dare think this is going to allow you to lounge around, peeping at everyone and making obscene doodles for your next 'book'!" _Naruto went from picture to picture, reading at his usual slow pace, then observing the picture. For some odd reason, the voice narrating the manga in Naruto's mind belonged to the masculine sounding Jiraiya._ ''Hokahoka(2) Highschool..I just moved and transferred here this summer. Unfortunately, this island's weather is like summer all year round.._The first few pictures depicted a bird's eye view of a tropical island, with a small city. It zoomed into the city, to a high school complex.

_Unfortunately for 99.9 percent of the rest of the male population! Jack-o-pot! I thought this place was only a rumor - it's so hot that all the students and teachers, particularly young, voluptuous and finely curved beauties had uniforms to fit the weather! _The next couple of panes scan through bikini-clad teenage girls going about their activities; shopping, gossiping, volleyball and other beach activities. Naruto adjusted his night shirt's collar, feeling a little hot, despite his window having been open with a gentle breeze since before Kakashi had arrived and delivered unto him this accidental gift. The next pane had a zoom in of a handful of hormonally rich gifts in two pieces, their bottoms and busts straining against the thin fabric of their 'clothes.'_ This place was the stuff of unbelievable rumors and urban legends! Everyone always just wore their swim wear, or quite often..looked for a reason to wear even less.. _Naruto fought for breath, drooling. The sensation of a pin quickly being stuck in his nostril hit him as a hot stream of runny, red fluid jettisoned from it. The soft image of his bedroom's walls and ceiling swirled, darkened, and disappeared.

_Naruto was only in his swimming trunks, in the waves of heat under the summer sun. He laughed, eyes closed while facing the glorious sun, arms spread to receive as much of the sun's attention as he could. Eh? He saw a pair of small, slender hands cuff his wrist. Looking over he saw the taller, slender, blonde Ino, her large, blue eyes underneath tightened brows and above a stretched smirk. I..Ino? She wore none of her usual white wrappings, which Naruto especially noticed on her slim torso. Only her straining bust was clothed, as well as the bottom of her torso with the skimpy, near-all-revealing 'V' shaped thong, both matching the color of her eyes. Heart beating in his chest, filling his ears with the hollow thumping sound, he turned to see his other wrist encircled by a similiar pair of slender hands, and he saw the attention-grabbing pink hair of Sakura on top of her heart-shaped head. She wore the same expression, the same outfit except pink - matching her hair. She wasn't as slender as Ino (whose stomach even indented a good portion), but Naruto felt paralyzed regardless of the girls' physiques hinting at no physical strength at all. "Now do I have your attention, Naruto-kun..?" softly drew out in front of him._

_He snapped his head to the source of the sound, to see the smallest and youngest of the girls in his class. Hinata slowly stalked towards him, one foot directly in front of the other, only walking on the small balls of her dainty feet. Her swaying hips mesmerized Naruto. She wore the same mean, yet amused smirk, hands folded behind her and leaning forward a little as she approached, which just made her lavender bikini top cover less of her hanging cleavage. Though the youngest and shortest, she had the most luscious body of his captors, Naruto decided, viewing her approaching, almost milky colored body. The deafening boom of his heart rapidly pumping his blood echoed throughout him._

_Hi..Hinata-chan! What's going on? What're you doing to me? "Shh.." she put her little finger to his lips, then giggling, effortlessly shoved him on the chest. He felt himself rock backwards in a single motion and crash onto the soft, hot sand. Hinata straddled his waist, putting her slender legs on either side of his hips, feet on top of his trunks. She leered down at him, her petite hands on his bare chest to balance herself. After a few moments, the other girls also appeared in his field of vision, leering down at him. "We have to teach you about the 'birds and the bees," Naruto-kun, before you can continue with your story..' she said in her soft, breathless voice. She bit her lip, smiling more at him, and leaned forward to break contact with him. Hinata moved so she was sitting on his thighs, more towards his knees and eyes half-closed. She reached into his trunks.._

Meanwhile, furniture and other random items were thrown this way and that._ No, where is it! Don't tell me I lost it when I.. _Kakashi's panicked mind and chilled body froze. He was inside of his own small home, which looked like a tornado had hit it. Everything was up-turned, all his doors, cabinets, cupboards, even refrigerator and freezer were opened. He recalled taking it out way off in Sand country..no..he couldn't have lost his personally autographed Icha Icha Paradise volume one! _Nooo! If I accidentally left or dropped it out there, it'd be lost, sultry treasure in a sea of sand! _Amidst all his strewn about items, he fell to his knees, facing the ceiling. The anguish he felt inside his chest exploded out his lips, his arms apart. In agony he cried out a single, long groan. After the timeless pain that had flowed out of him stopped, Kakashi fell back on his butt with his hands in his diagonally spiked grey hair, exposed eye wide open. It had a grey ring growing under it, and this was not helping that go away. He rocked back and forth numbly as his eye rapidly twitched, darting every what way randomly..

_Naruto felt the last wave of pleasure ebb away from his lap, dying, less intense than the other handful that was before it. Hinata's head slowly stopped bobbing, and she lifted her face to gaze up at Naruto, exhausted looking with her eyes half closed, panting, his clear fluid laced with white dripping from her slack, gaping jaw. Ino continued to breath slowly, warmly against his wet neck, her sticky saliva tormenting the area of his neck she had kept stimulating slowly with the tip of her tongue. He felt his fingers and knuckles still having small, dull bouts of pains as Sakura used her teeth to sometimes clamp on his fingers, mimicking much of what Hinata had just done elsewhere to him. Wh..why did you do this to me..? He couldn't think of anything else, laboring for breath. Hinata's glazed looking eyes hardened, and she grinned maliciously up at him, still covered with his essence._

_The beach faded away, and he found himself alarmed, a cold chill spreading over his body. He was sprawled, laying on his back with his shoulder next to the looming, ominous gates shut by a thin strip of paper, like the lock on a door. Sitting up, Naruto swallowed nervously. He looked around himself quickly. It was a large room, and he was in ankle-deep, luke warm water. He gasped, looking away from the giant bars, towards the opening of the room, opposite the cage. Sakura was missing from his hand. He looked down at his feet. Hinata was missing. He looked inadvertently at the bars, but more so to look for Ino who was also missing. The musical laughter of a somewhat deep, husky, woman rang out from the darkness behind the bars, washing over him oppressively. He started with a sound when within half a foot of his face, red eyes glowed at him full of fire, but not the giant ones he was used to seeing in his nightmares. They were the size that would belong to a human woman. They still had animal like pupils. He heard deep, slow, loud panting from them, and felt the hot breath wash over his bare chest again and again._

_"I hope you read more of that book, Naruto-kun.." called out the woman's voice to him softly, lustily. He ducked his shoulders a bit as a pair of fangs revealed themselves underneath the brightly glowing eyes, her laughter attacking him again. He could only watch as it subsided and eventually stopped altogether, though the heavy breathing still poured over him, over and over. In the dim light, he saw a plump tongue attempt to wrap itself around the closest bar to his face, and slide easily up it, curling less and less over a few inches. It left a silky looking, moist mark._

The dim light in the room brightened slowly, painfully, until everything he saw was drowned out. Even all his other senses became detached from himself, as the light expanded ruthlessly, forcing him out of the room, out of his mind, out of sleep. Opening his heavy eyes, he saw the walls and ceiling of his room. The sunlight attacked his eyes mercilessly, giving a dull pain at the back of his head. His lap was very wet, warm and sticky..

His mind reeled as he breathed slowly, inhaling the hot steam of his shower. He was still so confused..what had happened? What were they doing to him? Why had the demon inside of him changed form and acted so strangely?

Outside, in his kitchen, Naruto stared down at the closed manga's cover. He wanted to know more, but..he was losing something, himself, a large part of his being. Swallowing with a chill, he took it and stuffed it inside of his orange jacket.

Inside the Hokage's office, Hinata quietly allowed herself in, separating the doors just enough to slip inside and unobtrusively enter. Behind her desk, Tsunade was perusing through the many files, requests, and other papers on her desk. Next to her was a young woman who looked a few years older than Hinata also intently looking through whatever Tsunade was paying attention to. Her clothing was ripped and frayed at parts, but otherwise intact. On her upper-arm was a forehead protector, and on its metal plate was engraved the four lines of Rain country, each curved once in the middle, as a sort of wave. The younger woman nudged Tsunade's shoulder, and whispered something. The Hokage lifted her head from her tasks. Tsunade's stern gaze warmed a bit, seeing a familiar face. The other woman did as well, and to Hinata's shock, the eyes that met her's glowed brightly yellow, the black pupils slitted like a beast. Her brown hair was a tangle of untamable curls, pulled behind her ears to keep her face clear, and uncontrollably pouring over her shoulders to her mid-chest.

Bringing her small hand to her chest, Hinata stared, unsure what was going on. Tsunade turned her attention from the young genin to her companion, them returned it to the younger girl. "Hinata, this is Jazlyn**(3)**, a chuunin from Rain country." The mentioned woman inclined her head slightly, in recognition of Hinata.

While definitely feminine, Jazlyn's rough if not husky, calm voice**(4)** reached out to Hinata. "Just dropping by for business. I believe you did so the other day in Grass country when you ran into my older brother Hanshoumaru**(5)**." Hinata, unsure of what to say, shyly nodded.

Once again, the doors behind Hinata opened slowly, silently and a similar sized figure entered quietly, similar to how she had. Tsunade's small, blonde eyebrows arched in surprise. "Naruto? What's with the quiet entrance?"

Naruto noticed Hinata immediately, and cheeks reddening, quickly averted his gaze over to Tsunade. "Nothing, nothing. Just..feel off..today or something.." Hinata blinked at Naruto. Wasn't that her usual reaction when they ran into each other?

Naruto blinked, and looked Jazlyn over, finally noticing her. She wore a black, skin-tight shinobi outfit underneath a lighter shade of black, thick, frumpy gi. Her gi leggings were torn and frayed at the knees, and vest at the shoulders in wildly uneven lengths, looking like they had been roughly removed by hand or possibly torn away by claws even. At the v-neck opening of the gi, Naruto could see she wore a fish-net sort of undershirt and skin-tight black pants underneath her gi, which cut short mid-calf much like Hinata's actually.

"Hinata and Naruto. You look just like how Baku-kun described you." She smirked after assessing the two together, and folded her bare arms in front of her busty chest. Though her curvatures were a level or two below the woman next to her's.

"Oh, you know Baku?" Naruto seemed to finally gain some energy. Jazlyn's smug look melted to surprise at Naruto's inability to connect the two.

"Naruto-kun..Jazlyn-san**(6)** is Baku-san's sister.." she let out slow and hesitantly.

"Meh..?" Naruto squinted his eyes and looked Jazlyn over again. "Eh..I..guess they might be related..wait a minute! How come her forehead protector is different from his!"

Jazlyn lifted her hand so the back of it was at her lips as she cleared her throat. "The countries of Rain and Grass, or at least Grass's more southern inhabitants, are very close allies. After our chuunin exams, as a sign of allegiance, Bakudan was transferred to Grass country's nin forces." Politics hurt Naruto's brain. Jazlyn cleared her throat again, though it didn't clear any of the huskiness away. "We have a good relationship with a nomadic tribe that watches over the plains swept southern region of Grass country's boarder. We want to keep it strong."

"Um..okay. Anyways, what did you want to have us do, Obaachan?" Naruto tried to move quickly over to a subject he understood a lot better.

"Unfortunately it looks like I have to send you two alone again, but I need you to take these communications over to Rain country. Being that you just completed a similar mission of similar difficulty, I expect quick completion." Tsunade collected a handful of papers and slid them into a manilla envelope.

"Hokage-sama," Jazlyn blinked down at Tsunade. "I could return to my home country and hand that in. It'd be a lot more convenient." Tsunade gave it a brief couple of moments of thought, but shook her head at Jazlyn.

"You have to continue on your search, though a short journey, it could make you miss your mark. We know he's is in the area thanks to your brother," The younger woman sighed, defeated by the Hokage's logic.

Naruto was unnaturally quiet and avoidant of looking at Hinata as they exited the Hokage's office. _Naruto-kun..what's wrong..?_ She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, say those words, but if Naruto was trying to avoid her..

Naruto stretched his arms, then knitted his hands behind the back of his head, arms bent. Looking over his shoulder half-way, but not so he could see Hinata, Naruto said, "I'll meet you at the gates..see you.." and jumped over the protective railing, and from roof top to roof top. _What was with the change in his attitude? I was hoping..to hear him say 'Hinata-chan' again..or feel his up-lifting spirit I admire so much.._

"Huh.." Hinata blinked, curious. Where Naruto had been standing was a small, hand-sized booked. As she walked over to it, she could see from its cover in a bold title, Icha Icha Paradise, underneath which had a giggling woman being chased by a man._ Is this Naruto-kun's..? Maybe he dropped it when he stretched.._Looking down innocently, she began to make her way back to the Hyuuga complex to prepare for the trip. She slowly opened it to the first page..

Naruto packed the same as last time - he stuffed his pack full of as much ramen as he could possibly fit. Pausing, he contemplated leaving the book behind here. But he had to know more about why he was feeling so strange, and furthermore, what drove Jiraiya and Kakashi to be so obsessed with the book. He swallowed, nervously. He didn't even want to touch it lest he pass out again to find himself in the clutches of his inner demon in its strange mood. It wasn't hostile as it normally was, that's true. But it wasn't comfortable to see it like that, or have it do the things it did to him last night again, even if he had liked it..

Hinata continued to read the manga raptly, face incessantly flushed, breathless as she walked. Sometimes she would gasp softly, and put her fingers to her lips. Heart racing, she shoved the book into her jacket pocket and looked around for Naruto. He wasn't early, so she went and stood between the gates to exit the village. Neither of the guards spoke to her, but she continued to watch her fingers poking each other intently, the pink rosiness never leaving the cream color of her cheeks._ Naruto-kun..why didn't you do anything if you're..thinking like that..? _The book showed the signs of being read many, many times. It wore natural bends in the spine at some parts, particularly risque areas of the manga's content, as if they had been viewed with much enthusiasm countless times.

"Oh? We meet again, huh lil' girl?" Jazlyn approached a bewildered Hinata, one hand on her hip, the other smothering back her wild hair, to at least place the long, curly strands behind her ears. "Waitin' for someone?" Jazlyn said more of like a statement than as a question.

"..Ye..yes.." Hinata lowered her halfheartedly battling fingers to look at the woman. She grinned at her, crinkling her eyes and showing excessively long and sharp canines, just like Hanshoumaru.

Chuckling tomboyishly, Jazlyn said, "I know you like him. Take my advice," she began, winking at a blushing Hinata and waving her finger at her instructively. "If you don't want to watch him like someone else, pounce on him before it's too late - and make him your's." Still grinning, Jazlyn winked again at Hinata who ducked deeply into her shoulders and turned red. "I know it's hard, believe me." The humor drained from the rough looking lady. "I had so much trouble telling the guy I had the biggest crush on that I loved him, but it only took once. It was definitely worth it.." With a long, satisfied sigh, Jazlyn sort of stared off into space, eyes glazing and drooling a little from her open-mouthed smile. A faint rosiness had crept into the older girl's cheeks. A sharp, red stream jettisoned from one nostril. It woke her up as she slapped her hand over her nose wide eyed, and gave a muffled, "Erm..I'd better hurry. Duty calls..and good luck!" And with that, Jazlyn bounded down the path behind Hinata, who watched her rapidly shrink into the distance and disappear altogether.

"What a strange lady. She kinda reminds me of Kiba and you put together." Naruto had approached Hinata from behind. She started with a gasp and faced a sober looking Naruto.

"Did..did you hear what she had said..?"

"Not really, but she was loud and weird. Especially the nose thing, kinda reminds me of how your face always turns red and you look away when I try talking to you." Naruto turned his gaze from Hinata to the mark of blood Jazlyn had left on the pavement. _Only time that happened to me was.._the previous night replayed in his head. "Come on, let's try to get as far as we can today." The two headed down the path. Naruto was still unnaturally quiet and lacking energy as they traveled. Hinata watched him, worriedly. _Shimatta..she's watching me, I can feel it..but if I look at her all I'll be able to think about is..that manga... _Naruto's lip quivered and he bit it to stop the reaction. He sped up a little, so she would be watching his back, not being able to view his face.

Naruto's silent, pensive, paranoid behavior continued for hours until dusk came. Coming to a halt, they both prepared to set up camp like last time without a word. Naruto disappeared to collect firewood, Hinata began to set up the tent. This time around, it tired her a bit less. She smiled, her cheeks becoming a little rosy._ I've improved a little. Will Naruto-kun notice..? _Speaking of which..Hinata scanned the area from where she knelt. Naruto was taking a lot longer than he had last time.

In an excited, higher pitched voice, Naruto patted himself down frantically. "Oh no dattebayo! Where's Kakashi-sensei's manga!" He had finally given in and being alone, decided it was safe to peek a little at Icha Icha Paradise (just a page or two). Naruto pulled his hair, eyes widening._ What if..what if it fell in Tsunade Obaachan's office! A-ahh! Only Hinata and I were there, and she's not going to think it's Hinata's! _He rapidly clawed his face, pulling and stretching his features a bit like they were putty.

"Na..Naruto-kun? Are you okay..?" Hinata stood near the trunk of a tree, hand on it, looking over at Naruto meekly, half hidden.

Naruto tensed, then turned rubbing the back of his head, smiling at Hinata with his eyes closed. "Eh heh heh, yeah I'm okay. I just..ano..was looking for my flint and tinder, believe it. I think I dropped it.."

"Oh..I can..help you Naruto-kun.."

"Oh no no, no ne-"

"Byaakugan!" Hinata looked around Naruto's feet, through the bushes, around herself. _Huh..it can't be that far away.._she turned her gaze towards Naruto. "Naruto-kun..it's in your equipment pack.." Hinata unnecessarily pointed at his hip.

"Oh is it?" Naruto pulled them out. "So they are, so they are...Er eh heh heh..well let's go back." Naruto remained quiet the entire night. Hinata would've expected the instant ramen to at least cheer him up, but he remained stonily silent, and continued to avoid meeting her gaze. Once dinner was finished, Hinata entered the tent and expected Naruto to follow, but he appeared framed in the opening, hesitant to enter. "ano..Hinata I uh..I'm gonna go train to uh..help me sleep. I haven't trained for a while and uh..have lots and lots of energy pent up, believe it.." he grinned at her apologetically and waved quickly, bounding off without another moment.

Disappointed, Hinata sighed and got into her sleeping bag. _Does Naruto-kun not like me..? Maybe he's thinking of other girls, it's not like I've told him how I feel about him. I'm not as pretty as Sakura, Ino or Ten Ten. _She shifted her weight, the sensation like was laying on a rock poking into her side. The feeling persisted though. _Maybe it's because of that book.. _Hinata gasped. She reached inside of her jacket and pulled out the book that she had kept lying on. Reddening, she crawled on her hands and knees to the opening and closed it._ Byaakugan! _She scanned all around the tent. No Naruto..the veins around her temples and cheekbones faded back into her flesh, and her eyes' pupils became less pronounced in their pools of lavender. Swallowing, she opened back up to where she had left off earlier._ I wish this book would do a bit more with boys other than them spying on girls..but the one with long, grey hair reminds me of myself so much. He always watches the girls he has feelings for..but then he also acts like Naruto-kun when actually confronted. _Hinata couldn't help but giggle.

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Author's note: A manga is the comic-book form of anime. Though it's almost certain anyone reading this already knew it. The title means 'Flirting Paradise.'**

**(2) Hokahoka means, 'steamy.' Ho ho ho..**

**(3) Author's Note: Should be able to guess it yourself but this is another Original Character.**

**(4) Author's Note: Think Kagura from the American Inuyasha.**

**(5) She is apparently referring to 'Bakudan.' While the noted name is represented like an actual Japanese name ('Midnight Circle'), the latter is more simple and perhaps may be just a nickname. To help your judgement, 'Bakudan,' translates to 'Bomb' or 'Explosive (noun).' 'Baku,' translates to 'explosive (adjective).' If you were that curious, their family name ('Seiya') doesn't mean anything, though you can have fun trying to break the word down. Unfortunately, it's highly likely you will find none of the meanings to be very rewarding.**

**(6) This additive is used for somewhat formal respect. It can be used on young or old, man or woman.**


	6. Chp 6: Tensions

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His mind was blank. The room spun, everything rotating below him, racing to get behind him. Though air borne, he was barely raising in height, much like a lazy feather. As the tall body below him came to a stop in it's flight, flipping the other direction, he shot out his legs, feet striking in an arc against the top of his target's scalp. The room span the other direction, going above him, trying to get behind him, once, then it stopped suddenly. The white, stiff hair of his target inches from his face, his own arms and legs sticking out, stopping himself from crashing into the floor continued to flip the opposite direction it had been turning. The head below him contacted the ground, emitting a sickening, flesh covered but hollow noise as the cement panel below it cracked, shooting small fragments out in the shape of a halo. The long, tall, gangley, and slim light blue body that lay face down did not move. The three thick digits at the ends of both of the slender arms wouldn't even twitch, nor the two thick ones at the ends of the ungainly looking legs. He turned, swinging his right leg out, then pulling it in as he spun, and bringing his arms in at the same time to his chest, fingers out and together, thumb tucked in, palms facing the ground. The room stopped moving as he exhaled, lowering his hands slowly, all the tension leaving his body, the blissfull blankness retreating away from his mind. The center of his attention was the still form infront of him, his breathing slowing, the whiteness of his mind fading back into detail of the room and other stunned people a good distance away from him. His dizzy inertia slowly stopped their swirling, and settled in his ears and stomach. _"Gesshoku Serenade.."**(1)**_

He was in another room now, elaborate, clean, decorated with paintings and hanging cloth designs. Infront of him were five evenly measured steps, and a solid, regal throne that had been caved from the ground. The floor was a lacored marble, mesmerizing to stare at. The ancient man infront of him, above him smiled softly, adding even more wrinkles across his face. His long, white, stringy beard moved as he calmly said the words that echoed throughout the younger man's whole being, and his mind. "It is clear that your talent and potential is beyond that of a Chuunin. The question is if your judgement and therefore performance is on a Jounin level." After a long pause, he continued, "I feel this is true." The young man's heart skipped a beat. _From Genin to Jounin..?_

The rain was cool and soothing, despite having many bandages wrapped around his chest. It relaxed his sore, abused muscles that covered his broken bones, reminding him he was alive. He felt eager, anxious, proud and happy staring at the back of a woman with a high pony tail tied by a white body wrapping for a few inches to produce the effect, the hanging ends of her ponytail uneven, only a handful of inches long. The dark bangs hid her eyes from him since her posture was angled away from him and looking over his shoulder, leaning foreward a small amount. But if her bangs were shorter, he could've seen her eye at the angle she faced him. It was a wonderful high, every breath that entered his body brought him pleasure. Infront of him was a petite woman, shorter than himself by almost a head, deep green haired, almost too dark to be creamy skinned. Her rough, thick, blood red gi was soaked, clinging to her small frame. The right shoulder of her gi was pulled down to her waist, the sleeve shoved behind the length of a long, wooden sheath. Underneath her gi top was a skin-tight dark grey shirt. She wore thick, all-purpose geta and white socks. After what seemed to be eternity, rain never minding the two, her smooth skin tightened as she squeezed the wrapped hilt of her katana at her hip with her small hand. Her white teeth showed in an intense expression of contempt, grinding as her softly red lips pulled back further and further. The smooth, beautiful skin of her face tightened and distorted. Her whole body shook. "...I hate you.." even the words came to the man's ear shaking, full of malicious emotion. The man's heart stopped, breath wouldn't enter his lungs, the soothing rain disappeared from his mind and the sound of it assaulting everything uncovered became muffled. He was numb and thunderstruck. Slowly she strode away from him, the rain falling in behind her obediently, until she disappeared behind the wood and papered sides of the buildings. All he could do was stand there and stare.

It all melted into dark, indefinate colors. Somehow, they sharpened until eventually, the surroundings hanging above the man came into focus. He clawed his thick, black hair with white, bandage wrapped fingers and a matching thumb. A lot of it hung over the right half of his face. He felt the distinct uneasy tension at the top of his head, brain wanting to shut off. His eyes felt the dry, full of the dull ache felt when needing to be rested. He casted his gaze opposite of the rising sun. He wanted to go home more than anything. He needed to. He needed to see them all again, take a break, relax, feel alive again, laugh, love. Unsteadily, everything in his view lowered as he stumbled to his feet. He didn't have much further to go. Just a little more.

"Naruto-kun?" _Hinata gently pushed herself against the front of Naruto, her hands sliding perfectly against his chest. Head turned, she closed her enchanting, pale, softly lavender eyes, pressing herself ever so lightly more against his front._

"Naruto-kun?" _They shook, the whole world did, but it didn't matter to him. He felt funny though, like he was in two places at once. His mind here, but his body far off in the distance._

"Naruto-kun? Wake up.." _Like a flash, the image disappeared._ Looking around, Naruto found himself out in the woods, feeling cold and stiff all over.

"Wha..what're you doing out here, Hinata..?" The young girl stiffened, struck a little. _I'm not 'Hinata-chan' to Naruto-kun anymore..?_ Her heart ached. "Er um..sorry. I guess I passed out from training instead of heading back like I should've.." Naruto sat up and rubbed his weary eyes. He was still careful about looking at Hinata, or at least her face, her enchanting eyes.

"I..I was..worried when I awoke and you weren't..sleeping next to me.." she whispered. "I thought..you might've..left..without me.." she said feeling spiritless.

"That's really silly, Hinata." Naruto helped himself up to his feet. "I could never do that to my friends, believe it." He bit his lip and with determination, looked over into Hinata's face. "Promise." He lifted his fist to his shoulder level, holding it out to her. It managed to give her a small, assured smile.

Despite those bold words however, Naruto still seemed to be squirming in her company as they proceeded. The forrest around their path thickened, the air became more heavy itself, the sky saturated with grey, gloomy clouds. It was as if the further they went, the more the world around them reflected Hinata's poor heart. Soon enough, around midday as the two climbed a small hill that the path clung to, a small town sat infront of them in the distance.

"Mm..that place looks kinda like.." Naruto knitted his brows, trying to remember. "That one part of Konoha. It's old and traditional sorta.."

"Naruto-kun..do you mean..the Hyuuga clan's neighborhood?" Hinata smiled gently, Naruto remembering her home.

"Huh? The place you live?" Naruto blinked at her. She nodded once. "Yeah..it does really look like it..but..it a lot of the buildings have towers." The village was separated by a large hill, having a long flight of stairs. The lower elevation seemed more like modern society's architecture, smooth, concrete walls and vertical rising. The higher elevated half of the village, easier to view from their vantage point, looked more like classical Japanese architecture with the more wide than tall designs, and wood and paper looking walls. Naruto seemed hesitant to say something, but swallowed it and continued down the path. Along the way it had begun to sprinkle softly. Inside the town, many people walked about going to their business. Everyone seemed to carry a bambo handled, colorful, paper hooded umbrella. Most displayed beautiful symbols, that one may have thought were their clan's emblem. The two had decided to explore the town separate and meet up at the inn. Not that it's what Hinata wanted, but if it made Naruto happy.._The first chance he could use to get away from me.._Hinata fretted, confused and hurt.

Speaking of which, Naruto enjoyed another warming bowl of ramen. The noodles were thinner and more sharp tasting than back at Ichiraku's, though the broth wasn't as good. It was delightfully attention grabbing, so much that he didn't lose his temper when he was bumped by his neighbor as the man payed for his own meal and left. Sighing and deciding he had had enough sight seeing, Naruto went to the inn to wait for Hinata. Something felt odd though, off. Blinking, he began to pat himself down. Wallet, holster, necklace from Obaachan. What was wrong? With a cold sweat that arose from himself, he realized the manilla envelope was missing. Could it be? His mind replayed when he was bumped at the ramen stand. The man who had run into Naruto as he got up had put his hand on Naruto's shoulder to maintain balance with a quick _'Oop, sorry, excuse me.' _Did he steal the envelope from Naruto with his other hand, using the first as a distraction to his sense of touch? Gritting his teeth, Naruto leapt up between two buildings and onto the roof of one. With grim determination, he squinted, looking around.

Under a tree, behind a nearby building, someone was looking through a handful of papers carefully. The man was holding an empty, manilla envelope in his free hand. He wore a thick, deep blue and black plaid, collared shirt (all the buttons were done up) that was a few sizes too large and a loose pair of black wind breaker pants with a white stripe running down either flank, along matching black tennis shoes. Near his ankle was his 'forehead' protector turned to be vertically long and displayed over his shin, but at this angle, it was unreadable. Teeth grinding, Naruto landed with a pair of mushy slops, ten or fifteen feet away from the man. Fury burning inside of him, he lifted his finger, pointing it at his back.

"You mustn't have any manners to take what's not your's, dattebayo!" The fellow just shrugged, maybe apologetically, still paying attention mainly to the information on the papers. Anger tensed inside of the boy's throat, coming out in a growl. "Then if you're not going to give those back, I'll have to take them! Believe it!" Naruto lunged at the still figure. Swinging with all his might while midflight, Naruto slung a haymaker at the back of his target's head. A few moments before it connected, the man hunched over in a turning motion, sitting down on the dry ground beneath the tree. Naruto braced himself to land, and skidded on all fours, then without even turning all the way around, shot himself at the man again. He was an older boy, or rather, young man who had black, wavey, shoulder length hair (even his bangs) that covered the right half of his face. His hair had lazy waves and almost curled at their ends. Seeing his downcast eye that was going line after line of information on the paper, Naruto felt some odd sensation at the back of his mind.

Ignoring it, he used all his strength to punch at the man's head again. His target stuck out his leg to the side, foot flat and leg straight prematurely, and pivoting on that foot's ball, swung himself around and away from Naruto's trajectory. With an angry sound, Naruto aimed his feet at the ground and with a small skid, sped at the figure, stomping the damp earth. Everytime he was about to connect with his target, the man lazily twisted away or shrugged with minimal looking effort, wasting Naruto's energy.

The hot sensation of anger continued to fill Naruto as he growled with each miss. The man jumped far, far back in a single bound, towards the edge of town, near the thick forrest's edge. He swapped his current page out to the next, and continued reading.

"Enough of this, mushroom head! I'm gonna make you get really serious datte bayo! Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" With the proper seal, Naruto puffed himself a clone, holding out his upturned palm to it. The clone frantically air-patted Naruto's palm, leaving the untouched space in a sphere shape. Naruto's opponent lifted his gaze from his papers, staring at the frustrated youth from under his shock of black, wavey hair. "Rasengan**(2)**!" The clone behind him popped into a pile of grey clouds. Naruto ran at the man, teeth gritted, and lept at him again, extending the hand for the sphere to make contact.

His opponent dropped to the earth with his legs bent, and in a sharp motion, brought his right leg from opposite of Naruto to across his own body, then shot it out at Naruto before he could come within body distance of his desired target. The diagonal kick landed, shin hitting Naruto's forearm and causing him to jerk up and away in the air. Naruto flew foreward a moment still, then the sphere he was holding contacted the nearest tree, causing it to explode. Both fighters flew away from the explosion.

Hunching progressively over, muscles tightening, straining more and more, Naruto gritted his teeth. The young, tanned man raised his eyebrow at Naruto and sighed, putting all the papers neatly into the manilla envelope. He began to walk towards Naruto who ran at him again angrily. The man stopped.

"Ch-ch-chotto matte!**(3)**" He put his hands infront of him, trying to gesture to Naruto to calm down. His voice was very deep, contrasting his somewhat slender form. His face had several small, black dots thrown about his cheeks randomly (smooth, asian moles). Regardless, Naruto kept racing towards him. The man, a bit speedily said, "I'm done, here take it!" When Naruto didn't stop, he throw the manilla envelope at his chest, underhanded. Surprised, Naruto skidded to a halt, catching the envelope so it would not fall and get soiled. The man looked up at a lost looking Naruto. He had a greying patch underneath his lower lid, reminding Naruto of how Kakashi-sensei looked the last time he saw him. "Sorry, but I've been away from home a long time. I normally have pretty good manners, but I'm in a hurry." The man walked past Naruto, and at the edge of the alley they had began fighting, he turned to comment partially over his shoulder. "That's some real impressive stuff you know, kid. But your basics are horrid." Naruto's muscles stiff with angry tension. "Gokigenyo**(4)**," the young man disappeared into the crowded street.

It finally clicked in his mind. In the dusky light of the dry plains, Naruto saw the figure in quiet conversation, in the shadow of a conical teepee with Bakudan. He blinked a few times, finding his way back to the inn. Why was that young man so interested in communications between Obaachan and the leaders of their country's allies? Momentarily lost in thought, he found himself approaching Hinata who looked up meekly at her companion. He grinned and waved at her, having forgotten all about that dream and that book. Hinata blushed and smiled gently, and waited for him to get to her. _Naruto-kun's finally alright. I'm glad._

"Eh heh heh. Um Hinata-chan?" Naruto looked at her curiously. She flushed more, the use of 'chan' returning to Naruto when he spoke to her. "How long left do we have until we get to Amegakure?**(5)**"

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata hung her head. "We're _in_ it."

The blonde blinked at her. "But it's so small.."

"Konoha is the strongest, largest and most successful hidden village, Naruto-kun. Rain country does not even have a recognized Kage."

"Ne? But how come Grass country has one?" Even if he didn't really understand, he needed to try politics a little. He'd need to understand all these things when he was Hokage after all.

"Well.." Hinata poked her fingers, having so much attention from Naruto made her thoughts swim a bit. "Their kage isn't recognized by the other four countries because Grass country itself is not large or powerful. But our Hokage-sama recognizes him as a Kage..because he's very powerful and kind, like our previous Hokages..but even in his own country, he rivals power with the daimyo**(6)** who dislikes him. Most refer to the Kusakage as a Shaman instead." Naruto mulled over this

"Well if we're here, we really should go give that package to their leader. Um..know where he is?" Naruto said sheepishly.

The daimyo's 'office' was impressive to say the last. The two youngsters entered through large, creaking, red doors with huge, black studs rivetted throughout them, to a room even larger than Tsunade's office. There weren't any windows though, not that you could see anything had there been. The pillars looked like they had been placed in thought of artwork rather than architecture, and were intricately designed by carvings into them that wrapped around their entire shaft. The polished, clean floor had inlaid marble, and fifty feet across from the door were a handful of expertly cut steps, rising to an occupied thronelike seat, also wrought out of the ground. On it was a small, tanned, wizened looking bald man with a long, white, thin beard that flowed into his lap. Next to him with his back turned was..

"Ahh! You again?" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the figure who had been conversing softly with the daimyo. "What're you doing here, you jerk?"

The young man turned to Naruto, then eyed the daimyo who smiled silently, shaking from quiet, good natured laughter. The young man gazed across the room to Naruto again.

"Naruto-kun, do you know him?"

"Yeah, we have unfinished business, believe it." Naruto went from calm to screaming again. There truly was no inbetween for the ninja. "Mr. daimyo lord guy! That super sneaky slick smooth guy has been skulking about, reading all the daimyos' mail!" _Well, at least two people's info from Obaachan._ The elderly man chuckled and shook his head.

"I know, they were actually meant for him, believe it or not. Or at least I was going to show him those ones." Naruto made an irritable noise with a jerk of his neck, biting his lip. The two walked up to the daimyo and delivered the manilla envelope unceremoniously, feeling it pointless. From the current height of the shinobi infront of him, Naruto saw that his fore head protector on his ankle was indeed the wavey lines of a rain nin. Naruto glowered at him.

Frowning, the young man turned to the daimyo. "Your lordship, if you don't mind? He seems awefully determined.." He was answered with a nod, the old man still smiling. "Well, hope you're more impressive than earlier, kid." The man slowly decended the steps, gazing down upon Naruto. "If you don't mind, miss? Could you please watch next to the daimyo?" Hinata looked between the two, and giving Naruto a worried glance, ascended the steps to watch from the side of the elderly man. Standing ten or so feet away, he gazed almost uninterested at Naruto, with the same dark colored eye, with the same greyed ring hinting under his eyelid. He was relaxed, his hands half-fisted at his flanks. When Naruto didn't move, the man turned his head a bit to the side to eye him better, and raised a hand up to play with his thick hair absent mindedly.

"I really wanna get you good for earlier, mister."

"Oh..?"

"But.." Naruto looked around the elegant room. The walls were decorated with artisan paintings, beautiful cloth braidings and hangings were displayed about the room. The floor was polished and clean..

"I see, you want to use that again after how easily I thwarted you?" Naruto gritted his teeth. "Relax a bit, no need to get so tense. Let's just have a friendly spar, nothing overly destructive in the daimyo's chamber. You are a guest, after all."

Naruto grinned, a little embarassed a bit and nodded in agreement. "I'll make you recognize my strength. Believe it." He raised his fist to shoulder length. To his surprise, the man slowly walked to Naruto and knocked his own knuckles against the boy's small fist. He smiled softly, retreating without turning away from Naruto. "It's a habit from when I was training to become a Genin. It's supposed to keep children from getting too competitive," he apologized after giving a pained look. After a moment's silence, Naruto readied himself with a look of confident determination, the man lowered his hands to his flanks again.

_Naruto-kun..ganbatte**(7)**.._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes **

**(1) 'Moonlight Serenade'**

**(2) 'Spiral Blast' or some hoo-ha.**

**(3) 'H-h-h-old up a moment!'**

**(4) This is a (possibly extremely) polite way to say 'farewell'.**

**(5) 'Hidden village of the rain.'**

**(6) Daimyos are feudal lords in the different countries of Naruto. When a country lacks a widely recognized Kage, typically a wealthy daimyo is seen as that country's leader.**

**(7) 'Do your best'**


	7. Chp 7: Bitter Defeat

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto exploded, flying at his opponent. He made his punch less wild than before, being more calm than before. He felt his inertia shift as something contacted the outside of his wrist. As he passed his target the pressure expanded, his wrist being covered and the man's thumb and forefingers digging into the joints of Naruto's small wrist. The blonde couldn't keep his fist balled. The man was sliding backwards and to the side of Naruto. The boy felt pressure on the back of his shoulder, as the man's other hand contacted it, rolling it foreward while twisting Naruto's arm inward, but holding it out. Naruto had to follow, but his center of gravity was far foreward, rather than his stomach it was more like around his chin.

The room span and Naruto bounced and rolled away. Without coming to a stop, Naruto hurtled himself back at the man. His punch shot from his shoulder in a straight line, but grazed against the man's forearm as he brought it up to a similiar height, and angled it with his elbow pointed out a little. Naruto's other fist came from his hip at the man's stomach, but was halted again by the man's other forearm traveling a shorter distance to place his palm on the inside of Naruto's elbow, halting the attack. The man's face rushed at Naruto until it filled his entire view a moment later, and with a sharp pain in his forehead, pink and white stars dancing in his vision, a semi sweet, sharp phantom scent playing at his nostrils, he reeled backwards a few steps, stumbling, head throbbing..

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata brought her hand up to her chest, watching worriedly. _Naruto-kun..it's like when I faced Neji. I..I should cheer him on, like how he had.._

The young man shook his head at Naruto, who tried to clear his vision of the pain. "I see you listened to me when I told you your basics needed work. Not as sloppy, but not working."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. He brought up his hands infront of his chest, like when they had been outside. _That destructive attack again..?_ The young man changed his position a little, readying his hands, holding the furthest from him shoulder level and the closest in a diagonal line to his mid-chest. "Taju..Kage Buunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried, filling the room up with countless twins of himself. _Kinjutsu**(1)**..? This is Jounin level.._ "I'll read to you The Chronicles of Uzumaki Naruto!" They echoed throughout the large room, zeroing in on the man. He lept up unimpressively into the air, forming two seals with his fingers infront of his chest. _Goblin, dark. _Spreading his arms above his head, a blanket apparently made out of pitch black shadow expanded, until it filled a fair portion of the room, then dropped in the shape of a cube.

"Shouken Kage!**(2)**"

"What?" The many Narutos continued to flying at the opaque cube, entering it. Almost incessant popping could be heard as some would sent back out of the cube, struck decisively from the darkness within. Naruto watched shocked, unable to move as rapidly, all his clones popped. The cube quivered, then disolved into the air like steam to reveal Naruto's oponent standing there, just like before they began the match. "How could you do that without even getting hit!"

"Huh?" Naruto's opponent blinked at him almost painfully, and swayed slightly as if he had to jumpstart his brain. After a pause, "Normally I don't like to give lessons during a fight, but you do need the help, kid. The concept is easy - when you're alone and must fight multiple opponents, its best to use their numbers against them. If you can, you attempt to keep them in a line by moving constantly so you're ultimately fighting one person at a time. Naturally there were too many this time to attempt that, so the theory has to be approached another way. Taking away your senses of sight and sound, your clones could not distinguish myself from them in the dark. I could hit anything that came near me, but anytime they attacked something, they took a high risk of hitting a friendly target. And they did many times, if you were curious." The man twirled his finger in his black, wavey lockes absent mindedly. "Like I said, you have some really impressive jutsu - better than some of mine. But your basics are too weak for them to really shine." He gave a half-hearted, apologetic smile.

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata folded her hands infront of her lap, watching on fearfully.

"Chikushou**(3)**..." Naruto grinded his teeth. It was infuriating. Everything Naruto did was easily deterred, from his Rasengan to taijutsu.

"So is our session over?" The man relaxed.

"No! You have to actually defeat me, I'm not giving up! I don't go back on my words, believe it!" Naruto's almost instantaneous outburst shocked the man for a moment. Then he sighed.

"So be it, kid." He readied himself, and Naruto braced for an attack. _Damn..he hasn't gone offensive yet. This could be really bad datte bayo_. He padded towards Naruto, his tennis shoes squeaking sometimes on the smooth surface. His right hand looked like it was readied for a charged finger-jab, held near his hip. He became airborne. Naruto prepared for the attack..the man faced his side towards the boy but off centered, and shot out a kick with his lead leg, the other tucked underneath it. Naruto stepped away the furthest he could since the man had jumped at him off centered, both opponents still being able to face each other as he passed. Baring his teeth as the closest of his blue and black checkered arms shot out and caught Naruto under the chin, catching him while he wasn't completely on the ground. The man's legs lowered, toes contacting the floor. The blue and black clad man lurched foreward, more of his weight becoming stable, and shouted out a growlike kiai**(4) **as he lifted the small boy and with a swing of his arm, cast Naruto up and backwards into the air. As Naruto slowed to the apex of his flight, the man came and matched a similiar flight path, speed and ascent. He had just finished creating seals infront of his chest, but Naruto hadn't caught what they were.

Naruto was jolted as something rubbery and solid crashed underneath his jaw. He flipped, the world revolving around him crazily. As he came around in a moment, he expected his opponent to already be descending but it was as if he had managed to jump again for a small, slow falling handful of inches in the air. He felt the sensation of something hard and rubbery hitting the side of his head, cheek and jaw, making him turn in the air slowly, pink and white dots filling his crooked vision. They were both still lazily ascending in the air when Naruto's spin faced him to the man again. The man had his back to Naruto, but was turning towards him. With his head turned so he could see Naruto with one eye over his shoulder, his furthest leg shot out a few feet away from Naruto, then quickly hooked so Naruto could see the heel of his shoe strike the left half of his jaw. Stars. Sharp feeling but mellow, nonexistant scent assaulted his mind. He twirled predictably from the force to find the man almost having completed an imbalanced backflip in the air, as if he had swung from a horizontal bar. They had stopped at the apex of flight several times now, each time right before Naruto had been struck. Both the man's feet swung from below and caught Naruto under the chin, flipping him again, making him ascend a few more feet again from his pause in the air. Brain swimming, when the room stopped spinning he found the man above him, at the top of his vision. Naruto was parallel to the cold, smooth floor. The inertia of the last strike had him still slowly rotating further, back arced. The figure infront of him tucked into a ball, spinning down towards him, then unfolded so that the bottoms of his shoes could strike the top of Naruto's scalp while his legs were extended. He shot at the ground, which sped back at him, until they crashed and with a jolt. The blonde ninja lay there, crumpled. He could barely sense the energy of his opponent landing right infront of him, almost ontop of him, sprawled out but catching himself with his hands and feet. The man had spun away from him a moment later.

"It's over." Naruto succumbed to the tempting numbness of shutting off the pain. The room swirled away, the edges of his vision becoming black, the image he saw shrinking in the center. It had finally stopped spinning too..he thought he heard something faintly..it made him smile..he knew that, but not what it was..

White - there was something disorientating about it. It was harsh on the eyes and other senses. Naruto felt lost. He didn't know if he was standing vertically, horizontally, diagonally. He didn't know if he was drifting or still. Where was he anyways? Faintly the white dimmed and other colors began to swim into his vision, sharpening slowly. He was staring at a modest looking, white, tiled ceiling.

There was a soft gasp, and the sound of something small flinging itself at him. With a glomp, Naruto felt small, light arms wrap around his neck and a matching body on his chest. Looking down he saw Hinata's indigo hair. "Naruto-kun," reached his ears, muffled.

"Mm, so you're awake already? And I was afraid I had gone too far, again." Naruto's sparring partner looked up from his seat near the door. He had a writing pad and pen, but put them down and approached next to Naruto's bed. "You kids these days have all the stamina to spare it seems," he commented while smiling warmly down at the two. Maybe what he said was true. Naruto barely felt sore.

"Ano sa..how long was I out?" Naruto managed to mumble.

"Only a couple of hours. Like I said, kids these days.." the man played with his hair, twirling fingers in his lazily wavey, neck length bangs. Naruto leaned back and stared at the ceiling. He had spoken big words but failed to come anywhere near them.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, kid," the man's gentle and deep voice said. Naruto looked over at him numbly. "You're acting like it didn't mean anything if you lost. You learned, didn't you?" Naruto sighed. "Hey, come on. It's not like you said you'd beat me. You kept your word."

"Huh?" Naruto sat up, and Hinata sat back into her chair next to the bed, to look at the center of his attention.

The man smiled a bit lively and rubbed the back of his head. "You told me 'I'll make you recognize my strength. Believe it.' remember? You are strong, kid." Naruto brightened visibly. Then man stooped a bit and put his palm parallel to the ground, but near his knees. "You just need to work on down here," he then straightened up and put his hand near his head, "before you can rely on up here." Naruto nodded with an 'mh.'

"Naruto Uzumaki, right?" Naruto blinked at the man. "I'm Shirasei Fang**(5)**, an Ame jounin." He held out his hand good naturedly. After a few moments to realize what he wanted, Naruto grasped hands and shook. They both had firm grips.

Shirasei looked as if he was going to say something, then cast his gaze to the unobtrusive, little girl next to the two. "Hinata, do you mind if I have a word alone with Naruto?"

Confused, Hinata got up and went to the door. She stopped though, trying to manage to say what was on her mind. "Shirasei-san?"

"M...? Yes?"

"I..I would like to fight you..sometime.." Hinata kept her eyes on the floor.

"Huh? Well alright, maybe later tonight. The person I really wanted to see isn't in the village unfortunately, so I need to justify interrupting my mission and being here." He smiled wryly. She looked up with her gentle smile.

"Thank you.."

"Eh? Shirasei-nii-san?"

"Mm?" 

"Who're you looking for?" Shirasei felt uneasy with the two children staring at him. Biting his lip, he looked at the wall and lifted his hand. The pinky was extended, then he wiggled it half heartedly. Naruto's reaction was immediate as he pointed and laughed animatedly. Hinata flushed thinking about how she wished she could make the same admission to Naruto. A sharp pain spread on the top of Naruto's head as he was jerked foreward.

"Ahou**(6)**! I'm a young man, it's not embarassing for me anymore!" Shirasei gritted his teeth and unfurled his fist that had just struck Naruto's head. Naruto twitched while muttering something about why did he just act so uncomfortably.

Hinata giggled then excused herself from the room, face flushed a little, lost in her own thoughts about the red string of fate**(7)**. Watching the door close, Shirasei sat in Hinata's former seat.

"How much do you know about an organization called Akatsuki, Naruto?"

"Huh? Akatsuki..? Not much. I remember Ero-senin..er..Jiraiya, one of the three Konaha Sannin**(9)**..mentioned them before. Why?" Naruto ignored the memory of the two he had met, one being Sasuke's brother at the inn a long time ago.

Shirasei sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know why you're being kept out of the loop, so let me lay some cards on the table. I know you're a Jinchuuriki**(8)**." Naruto jumped a little with a cold chill. "I know because Sarutobi told me that the fourth Hokage sealed the nine tailed fox inside of you when I first began my mission a few years ago." He smiled, thinking of something affectionately. "How is that ol' timer?" Naruto's down-cast gaze told him enough. "I see..rest in peace Sarutobi.." Shirasei sighed and closed his eyes again for a moment of silence. Opening them, he said, "I'm searching for a missing Rain nin named Tameiya Ashura**(10)**, and a possibility is she might become part of Akatsuki." Naruto looked at him. "I know Akatsuki is looking for you, and why. It was put in the packets of collected information I've been receiving from Hidden Rain's allies." He sighed, leaning back in the chair. Apparently this entire subject was not a comfortable thing for him. "My mission is ranked A in difficulty. But it holds a very, very high possibility to elevating to S rank should Tameiya not return to Hidden Rain or worse, join Akatsuki. I know they've had their eyes on her, I'm not sure why I haven't heard of her joining them yet..but it does give me a bit of hope." 

"Shirasei-nii-san?" Shirasei 'mm'd,' throatily again. "Why're you telling me all of this?"

"I'm pretty sure I can't beat Tameiya. During my Chuunin exams, Tameiya utterly crushed me in the final match. I haven't improved much since then, but she has an obsession with her strength and bettering it. And that probably goes for any of Akatsuki's members who are all "S" ranked criminals. From what I've seen, that's really bad news for you." Naruto's face drooped. _You could be a little less blunt, believe it.._ "No one knows what Akatsuki's real motives are, but collecting all the bijuu would be impossible to claim for anything nice. They're a threat to everyone." Naruto looked lost in thought. "I'm just telling you how it is, kid. For your own safety. I'm sure I haven't seen all your tricks, but if I defeated you so easily, they're gonna take you in a heartbeat," he said soberly. Shirasei got up and turned to go. Over his shoulder, his bangs preventing Naruto from seeing his face, "I hope next time I see you, you won't worry me so much.." and he reached out and mussed up Naruto's hair good naturedly. Naruto heard Shirasei exit the room as he stared at his bedsheets.

_He's right_, Naruto thought to himself. _Last time I couldn't even do anything until Sasuke and Ero-senin showed up. They almost took me without even a fight. And Sasuke.._ Naruto gripped his bed sheet, squeezing it in anger. His tension was broke though when he heard a soft, startled gasp. Looking at the source he saw Hinata in the doorway.

"Na..Naruto-kun, what's wrong? Was it..was it what Shirasei-san was talking to you about..?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, I was just..thinking of Sasuke." Hinata's spirits dropped. _If only we could've gotten the Bikochu _"Ne. Hinata-chan, when're you going to beat Shirasei for me?" Naruto waited anxiously.

"Na..Naruto-kun.." Hinata felt herself blushing and trying to fold herself up and hide. "Later this evening we'll have our own match.." She still couldn't believe she had been bold enough to challenge the man who easily defeated Naruto. But she had a hunch..Hinata poked her fingers together, sensing her love's attention focused on her. Startling her, he hopped out of bed and got his close out of the closet.

"Well I really wanna see you defeat nii-san, so I should eat early ne?" Naruto finished putting on his shoes, then his jumpsuit jacket. "Did you eat already Hinata-chan?" Still feeling unsteady, Hinata managed a shake of the head. "Well, let's go eat then! My treat okay?"

"Naruto-kun.." she nodded. Was this a date..? Hinata felt very hot in the face, and woozy, but managed to follow her companion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes **

**(1) 'Forbidden Technique.' **

**(2) 'Silk Shadow'**

**(3) Just another way to say 'damn it.'**

**(4) A kiai is a battle shout. They're normally short, but many martial artists feel that they are key to strength in battle as the shout helps breathing, ease anxiety and focus energy flow throughout the body. To a more modern day example, grunting and sighing when one lifts and places a heavy object on a desired location shares the same principle.**

**(5) Original character. And no, his name doesn't translate to anything.**

**(6) Just another way to call someone stupid.**

**(7) The so called 'red string of fate' is Japanese lore and culture involving lovers being tied by a string to each other's pinkies (to further elaborate the symbolic pinky gesture seen so often in anime and manga).**

**(8) 'Demon Vessel/Container'**

**(9) 'Legendary Three' or more descriptively, 'legendary three ninja.' Japanese people seem to be fond of being rather vague.**

**(10) Original Character. Notice ironically that if broken down, her name 'Tameiya' translates to 'proud,' 'destiny,' 'arrow.' 'Ta' also means 'lonely,' however. Though her family name doesn't mean anything if you were curious. Her first name was just coincidence anyways.**


	8. Chp 8: Redemption

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I see, so this is what you wanted to test out," Shirasei grimaced, bringing up both his arms in a stance that looked very similiar to a boxer's. His breathing was heavy and labored, while the small, young girl infront of him didn't seem spent in the least. His mind raced, trying to think of what to do - which wasn't good. Shirasei was not a thinking type when it came to battles. All he could do though was recall how this had turned into such a bad situation, probably why he tried to avoid thinking when he faught.

The two faced each other having just bowed politely, out in the calm rain as it softly beat on their heads and shoulders, thighs and knees, forearms and hands. The sky was grey as usual, the heavens weeping. Hinata slid her right leg back, bending both knees, her hands having their fingers out and stuck together, thumb tucked in. Shirasei observed her with his feet apart at shoulder length distance, fists at his flanks.

"Come on Hinata-chan! I know you can do it!" Naruto's cheer made her flush under the cool rain. Their recent dinner alone together in their hotel room flooded her mind, bringing more embarassed heat and color to her cheeks. Naruto had seemed to move out of his strange, uncharacteristic behavior finally and lavished her with much animated attention. She had to focus though. With a deep sigh, she released some of her bottled up tension. Readying her hands to strike, she kept them in place as she approached Shirasei at a full run. Her first strike, palm aimed at her victim, was deterred much like how Naruto's attack had been. She knicked the side of his forearm, eventually rolling off the end of his elbow. The effect was immediate as he gave an alarmed wince, teeth gritted a bit. Her other hand was following at his chest. Shirasei had managed to jump to the outside of her arm though, pushing at her forearm to direct the palm away from him. As she turned to face him, distanced, she saw him shake the arm he had used to parry her first attack a few times, as if it had fallen asleep. After unsuccessfully 'waking' it up, he brought up both his arms, fists between his chin and shoulders, elbows at the bottom of his ribcage. He had a slightly hunched posture, allowing him to cover his torso up a bit more. He certainly seemed a lot more wary of her than his last opponent.

The next passing he managed to duck and weave away from her attacks, coming at him exactly the same as last time. This time however, as she saw him moving to side step her, she had flung her closest arm out horizontally and struck the outside of his shoulder with that arm's palm. Shirasei felt jarred as his body reacted like a car had rammed into his shoulder, like a massive wave of energy had shot through his flesh from one shoulder, through the top of his chest, to the other and exitted. He saw he was right, as a splash of blue chakra crashed out the shoulder that had not been struck and disolved into the cold air. Retreating a bit, he tried to rotate the joints, but his arms while controllable, felt extremely weak and sluggish, giving him a strained look on his face.

He looked up at Hinata, still unsure of how to approach this kind of opponent. Thinking had gotten him nowhere. Time to simply gamble. Knitting his brows, he performed two seals. _Goblin, dark._ "Shouken Kage!" The black blanket enveloped the two, making them disappear from Naruto.

"Oh oh be careful, Hinata-chan!" Naruto called out concerned, not being able to tell what was going on.

"Byaakugan!" Hinata's voice rang out from the darkness, determined. Naruto heard some scuffling on the wet pavement, and some uneven slapping and solid flesh against flesh sounds. Shirasei's body emerged from one of the walls in the cube, it begining to immediately disolve. The jounin gasped when he saw Hinata's eyes - the soft lavender parts had become laced with veins and the centers could been seen easier. Her concentration could be seen by the veins and nerves pushing against the skin near her cheek bones and outside edges of her eyes, between the cheek bone and ear. _Did that allow her to see me in the perfect dark?_

Shirasei bit his lip. _Damn, I didn't want to use this but things are really not going my way.. Demon, bird_ "Kage Otaki**(1)**!" Shirasei stopped his backwards flight, finishing his seals as something shocked Naruto. Just before he had finished moving, he had finished his seals. Was it a trick of the light? Naruto had thought for a split moment there was a second Shirasei, just an inch or so infront of the now still jounin.

With teeth gritted, Shirasei flew at Hinata in a slow, aeriel cartwheel, timed so that he would be right-side-up when he was near where she was standing. It was disorientating for Naruto to watch, as a trail of mirror images followed his exact movements and path. They only seemed to last a few seconds though, before the furthest would flicker and fade away, stuck in the position Shirasei had been in a couple of seconds ago.

Hinata stood there, waiting. "Hinata-chan! Watch out!" Naruto yelled, but the girl stood there, watching the incoming shinobi. She stood there as he pivoted in the air, one leg down, the other cocked near his waist. She stood there as he shot out his leg at her head, aiming the instep at her temple. She didn't defend herself, she wouldn't even raise her arm with a little effort to soften the strike. His kick was followed a handful of times, each foot a moment's speed behind the previous. Though the foot should've hit her, no sign of physical contact showed as the feet over and over again came to its desired target. As the sixth or seventh leg approached her, she ducked it by leaning far foreward, and without pausing, brought her palm at the center of his chest. She hit what looked like a mirror image causing a fountain of unstable, light blue chakra to splurt out of its back in a brief geyser before disappating rapidly, and instantly there was only one Shirasei who was falling to the ground. With a soft 'thump,' he connected to the wet surface and slid a bit away from the force of her strike. Shirasei bared his teeth in pain, trying to sit up, get up, return to the fight. His eyes widened and convulsed, sharply spitting out a small shot glass's amount of blood, which swirled like watery red dye on the wet surface.

"I..guess..this is over." Shirasei wobbled as he straightened himself up, wincing and raking his fingers over where he had just been hit. _How though.._He breathed heavily, as if he had just ran around the village. Hinata relaxed, dropping her fighting posture and her eyes returning to normal.

"Yatta!" Naruto whooped, jumping with an arm shooting up above him. He ran over to Hinata. "Hinata-chan you're so strong! But I already knew that from when you faced Neji, eh heh heh." Naruto grinned at her and in return she ducked into her shoulders a bit, turning slightly away to make herself small, flushing madly. "Oh Hinata-chan, you're not getting sick are you? We should've just had you two spar where we did the first time." They had met at the top of the stairs that divided the village in elevation, and it seemed, architecture. At the top of the stairs was a large, wooden archway, but otherwise they had stood on clear pavement for maybe a hundred feet. Naruto looked concernedly at Hinata. She smiled at him timidly, and began to poke her fingers together infront of her chest.

Hinata returned his gaze timidly from the corners of her eyes and shook her head. "I..I'm fine..Naruto-kun.." She smiled and ducked into her shoulders a bit again. The two turned to see their elder approaching them. When he came close enough, he stopped. 

"What was with your eyes, Hinata?" He rumbled off in his deep voice.

"My..my Byaakugan?" She let escape shyly. "It let's me see my opponent's chakra channels, and in three-sixty degrees.." she softly admitted. Shirasei rolled his eyes up and leaned back, feeling stupid.

"So that's how you saw me in the dark, and knew which image was the real me. I should've figured it out though after you were sticking to me inside of the Shouken Kage." His conclusion was met with a small nod. "It's as if you were made to defeat me. Haha," Shirasei rubbed the back of his head, though wincing at the effort. "I guess I know how Naruto felt now." His comment was met with a glare from the blonde nin. Snapping out of the moment, the three noticed they had garnered a lot of attention. The townsfolk were pointing and talking animatedly at each other.

'Did you see that?' 'That little girl defeated Shirasei Fang!' 'The only other person who's beaten him was Tameiya.' 'Well, that's a Konoha shinobi for ya,' and other snippits reached their ears. Hinata felt like she was going to die from all the attention.

"Oh no, Hinata-chan let's get you to your room! You're sick, I'm sure of it!" Naruto put his hand to her forehead - her whole face was deep red. It was just too much, her eyes rolled back and everything faded away.

_The indigo haired girl woke up with a start, sitting upright. She was on a bed that was not much larger than herself, but very soft and comfortable, its relaxing qualities hypnotically attempting to recall her to its warm surface. It only took a moment to tell she was alone in a small room, not her's, not their rented one in Rain._

_Blinking in the adequate light, she cast her large, pale lavender eyes across her surroundings. The walls were made of wood framing and paper coating. They were beautifully decorated with delicate artwork of elagant birds, modest flowers, soothing clouds spread completely around the room. On the center of each wall was a lit candle holder, casting a steady but wavering glow over the room._

_The girl slowly raised one of her small, soft palms to her somewhat rounded cheek and felt herself. She thought she was awake, though she felt numb. She gasped, surprised to see her slender arm enfolded within the rich, silky, smooth fabric of an expensive kimono. It was a pale sky blue, covering most of her body except for a small portion of her chest in it's fold-over 'v' design and the end halves of her forearms and calves. She was wrapped in a dark purple sash, wounded around her small, slim stomach a few times, straining the sensual fabric to her creamy body, accentuating her figure subtly._

_Her amazed study of her uncharacteristic garb was interrupted by the distinct sound of wood softly gliding upon itself. She raised her large, orblike eyes infront of her, not that she had to in order to discover who it was._

_"Hinata!" Naruto yelled unnecessarily from the doorway, jumping a little. The young girl blushed immensely from his lack of the 'chan' suffix. "You were great! You're so strong and cute!" He grinned at her from his own orange and white kimono, similiar to her own but tied with a blue sash. Hinata had let her mouth hang a little as her face turned completely red from Naruto's praise. Even for Naruto, this was a completely surprise. Before she realized it, the blonde nin had plopped onto his side on the all too welcoming bed, facing her while grinning and chuckling._

_For a while, all she could do was blink at him. Eventually, she had no idea when, she found her soft voice. "..Na..Naruto-kun..? I..I wasn't..**that** impressive.." certainly the spar with Shirasei had only been brief and while fairly one sided, she hadn't effortlessly defeated him.._

_"You're way too modest Hinata, dattebayo!" He poked her small shoulder playfully, causing her to hang her mouth again. He was talking to her like they layed together..on a bed..all the time.."Only you would win the Chuunin exam and think you didn't deserve praise, believe it! If it was me I'd brag about it nonstop until I thought everyone knew. It was such a tough fight too, Neji's gotten so much better. But then again you got way more better, believe it!" The numbness of when she first awoke returned inside of her._

_"I...I..Naruto-kun..what..?" she sputtered. Did she hear him right?_

_"Eh? Maybe you were a little too worn out from your final match with Neji. You looked really tired after it. I said you won the Chuunin exam, remember?" She blinked her pale eyes at him a few times. "You know..you KO'd Neji..and everyone was cheering and stuff..and when you exitted the arena I ran over to congratulate you, then you..you know.." Naruto sort of trailed off, his cheeks becoming a little pink. She only kept blinking at him._

_"I..what?" she couldn't believe it. Was this real?_

_"Eh heh heh. You know.." Naruto poked his fingers together a few times like she always did. "You threw your arms around my neck and kissed me real tightly..and somehow we ended up here with all our clothes all over the place.." Hinata put a small hand to her lips, gasping once, face burning up._

_"I..what..I'm..I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun!" She forced out of herself._

_"Eh? What're you sorry for silly!" Naruto's expression hardened a little, as he eyed her. She felt herself lock up under his scrutiny. They were so very close.. "I really liked what happened, and I thought you did too, you know..you were so tired though, so I had to let you sleep for a real long time afterwards but..all I did was think about how we were rolling around, believe it.." he said softly, almost growled out. Hinata swallowed underneath her red cheeks. "I didn't even think of ramen, it's so strange.." he crawled over to her, his strong hands pushing her small shoulders flat against the sheets. He pinned her down just like he had many times before in her mind, as if she was his. Just like she had wanted him to. She **was** his. Just like she had always wanted. She gazed up at him wordlessly, wide eyed, her little heart rapidly beating, her lips slightly parted. "..you know you want it.."_

_She couldn't say, but of course she did, more than anything. It was like a dream come true. She closed her eyes happily, shutting off the image of her blonde crush lowering his face to her's to press their lips together. She breathed deeply, heavy her strained chest excitedly, greatly anticipating the long yearned for touch of the blonde nin. They were going to do it again. They had already done it! How could she have forgotten the happiest moment of her life? She was his.._

_The weight and warmth of his body was disappating like he was some kind of bubbly soda. The darkness was somehow thinning, she felt like she was lifting but not moving a muscle._

In Hinata's blank mind, she heard hollow sounding voices off in the distance, like at the end of a tunnel. Someone was talking. It was familiar..who..she had just heard it.

"..nii-san?" It was becoming clearer and louder.

"Don't call me 'nii-san' Naruto, 'Aniki'**(2)** sounds better." Shirase said a bit irritated. "Anyways, she was my best friend and teammate, why?"

"Okay okay, Aniki. Ero-senin once said there's a nin from Hidden Rain in Akatsuki. So how come they're interested in your friend?" The surroundings of Hinata's room at the inn swam into focus. She saw Shirasei leaning against the archway of the opening that lead to their balcony, balancing on his forearm. Even despite his leaning posture, he was a good deal taller than the two children, measuring somewhere around 5'7." He had taken off his thick, black and deep blue collared shirt, revealing his slender (moderately muscular) frame. He had nin wrappings**(3)** around his ribcage, elbows and fingers and thumbs. He had many inch-wide and long scars that ran horizontally across his arms, almost like tribal markings. Their lack of flamboyance though suggested they were war wounds. The end of one had snuck out of the backside of his chest wrappings, hinting at perhaps a very long scar directly down his spine. Naruto stood by with his back turned, facing the balcony but looking up at the older shinobi. "Wouldn't they have to kick the one from hidden rain out?"

After a pause, Shirasei answered in his low tone, "I don't know, kid. I haven't had any interaction with Akatsuki or anyone directly involved with them. That was actually news to me." He thought to himself for a few moments. "To answer the other part of your question, Tameiya is a very, very strong ninja. If you asked my honest opinion, I'd say without hesitation that she's hidden rain's strongest shinobi alive at this moment. We won't even send out any hunter nins - it'd just be a waste of lives. She showed the highest raw talent in our Chuunin exams, and when it came down to it, completely manhandled me in that exam's final match." Shirasei paused, looking down at the arm nearest Naruto, at its scars. "I'd assume they're drawn to power due to their task at hand - maybe they'd make an exception, or maybe they'd replace their current Rain nin, I really don't know. Either way they haven't yet, not to my knowledge. It gives me hope that I may be able to bring her back.."

Hinata quietly sat up, and readied herself to approach the two. However.._I don't want to interrupt..and this sounds like it might be related to Naruto-kun.._she layed back down from her sitting position and nearly closed her eyes, watching the two.

"Oy oy Anaki? How come Hinata-chan defeated you as easily as you defeated me?" This caused Shirasei to rub the bottom of his own chin pensively and Hinata to flush with pleasure from the attention despite being 'asleep.'

"How to put this? While I favor taijutsu, I'm pretty good at most aspects of a shinobi. What happened was Hinata noticed the first time you and I sparred was that my sticking-hands**(4)** involved a lot of parrying and contact. She also saw my jutsus relied a lot impairing vision. Her Byaakugan and form of taijutsu were the worst possible line ups for me fighting the way I did. She played my weaknesses, just like how I played your's."

Though she couldn't see his face, she was certain Naruto looked irritated from his stooped shoulders. "It's not a bad concept. Infact, it's what allowed me to jump from Genin to Jounin in ranks." Naruto started, shocked. "I was never a Chuunin. I excel at most things but am a master of nothing. It's an easy set up," Shirasei sighed and squatted down, looking out over the balcony. "I just figure out what my opponent's weakness is and I lean on them in that manner until they fall over. Hinata didn't even have to think about it if she wanted to use that strategy - I blatantly set myself up by the way I approached our fight before her's. Her taijutsu only needed to contact my body to shut off strength to the body part it hit, and her byaakugan easily saw through my jutsus since they relied off the energy chakra produces, not light. They were clearly superior for the type of fighting style I had shown I preferred."

Naruto concidered this quietly. Shirasei got up and stretched his sore muscles. It seemed the effects of Hinata's juuken hadn't quite gone away. "Speaking of which, I wonder if she's awake yet?" _Oh no, I hope I'm not blushing anymore..! _Shirasei turned and faced her. He apparently thought she was still asleep.

"She does that a lot, at least when she's around me." Naruto commented baffled, looking over his friend from where they stood, the sunset lighting cast over them from the balcony. She was such a nice girl but..so dark and weird.

"Oh?" This seemed to perk Shirasei's interest a lot. He grinned for the first time Hinata'd seen at Naruto and held out his pinky to the young nin. "Is it because of this?"

"Baka! Of course not! She just..I.." Naruto grasped for a reason to Hinata's peculiar behavior. It couldn't be **that**. Luckily the two were too absorbed with each other to notice the rosiness that clung to Hinata's cheek bones. Shirasei made an amused, satisfied grunt, smirking at Naruto.

"I like her. You should concider it." Shirasei patted an embarassed and humbled Naruto on the shoulder, and made his way to the door. Looking over his shoulder, he commented slyly, "If you value the advice of your aniki at all anyways, _ototo_**(5)**." With another uncharacteristic grin shot over his shoulder, Shirasei exitted and closed the door behind him, leaving Naruto flustered and blushing for once.

_I guess this is a good time.._ Hinata feigned waking up, with her soft sigh and moan as she stretched her 'stiff' muscles. Naruto turned his attention to her and hurried over.

"Ah Hinata-chan, you were out for a while. Are you feeling better now?" Hinata flushed from the attention, hiding in her blankets a bit so that only her eyes were visible, hiding most of her tomato-red blush.

"Ye..yes Naruto-kun. Did..did I win..?" She probed, pretending to not remember. _It's nothing harmful to fish for compliments...I doubt I'd have to from Naruto-kun anyways.._

Naruto's face brightened as he animately told her about her short match with Shirasei and lost his enthusiasm when he related it to how easily her opponent had defeated him. They decided they had no business left in Hidden Rain, and headed out during the night since both of them had taken light 'naps' that afternoon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes **

**(1) 'Shadow Mirage.'**

**(2) Both mean 'big brother,' though the latter is a bit more informal. Typically in yakuza clans for example, members will call their seniors 'aniki' (the officers alone calling the big boss 'aniki').**

**(3) These are the white, bandage looking wraps some of the shinobi in Naruto and other animes/mangas wear. The name isn't real, just made on the spot for simplicity's sake. They're normally not donned for medical purposes, but rather to conceal very small weapons or cover parts of the body that need a protection but also need to not have the surface's sense of touch impaired, such as the fingers or feet. Sometimes they're just used for insulation though. Sometimes you can see Mui Tae kick boxers using these wrappings, so I assume there's an actual name to them.**

**(4) Martial Artists refer to clashing with different body parts to avoid direct hits 'sticking hands' or 'sticking palms.' This goes from outright blocking to directing the energy of an opponent's attack completely away from its victim's body.**

**(5) A similiarly informal way of saying 'little brother.'**


	9. Chp 9: There's Always A Price To Pay

**Cough** time for Jiraiya to stop slacking off..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two had returned home without much trouble, though Naruto wished he had managed to bump into Shirasei and say goodbye. Hinata was in heaven, over the last couple of weeks, Naruto and her had come unconceivably closer. They were just friends, but before they had hardly even spoken. Walking on clouds after reporting another successful mission to Tsunade, Hinata parted with Naruto and found herself winding her way to the Hyuuga neighborhood of Konoha. Tsunade hadn't found any C or D ranked missions for the two nins, and decided that B was just a bit too high to them in her head. It was unfortunate that Naruto's team was pretty much broken up - Sakura trained under Tsunade and Shizune's tutalage to become a medical nin**(1)** and Sasuke was, well you should know by now just from having read this fanfic. That only left Kakashi and Naruto, and it just made more sense to use them both as fillers. Shino and Kiba had both been paired with their matching parent jounin to do some fairly long-term missions, missions that two people with the same strategies and bloodline capabilities, and other shared traits such as jutsus should go on alone. It was a great way to train the younger nin. The shinobi should be returning soon however. Tsunade could start running her with her old team again though.

Without even thinking about a vacation, Naruto anxiously began to search for his sensei, Jiraiya. It wouldn't be hard - the most likely place to find the perveted old man was probably near the female section of the public hot springs, though Naruto was sure to scan the rooftops of buildings as he hurried towards there. He smiled when the tops of the Hyuuga complex entered his center of vision, memories of his recent adventures flowing through his head. He had really enjoyed his time with Hinata, and was surprised at how strong she truly was. Or at least how much she had grown. _'I like her. You should concider it...otouto.'_ flowed through his mind. He shook his head, a little bit of a warm feeling creeping underneath his eyes. Jiraiya, he needed to find Ero-senin and get started on his training. Just because he had declined to go away for three years didn't mean he didn't want to become strong.

Not surprisingly, Naruto found his sensei sprawled out ontop of a roof with a good vantage of the female section of the local hotsprings. Next to him was an open scroll with a lot of writing and scribbles on it that looked like drawings from Naruto's distance, but the exposed portion was halfway blank. Jiraiya had a look of utmost pleasure, blushing rosily with a tendril of drool hanging from his open-mouthed smile as he made strangled, excited noises. Vein bulging from his forehead, Naruto made a decision.

Plodding softly behind Jiraiya, almost unnecesarily since his attention was so raptly focused on the young, nude women, Naruto tip-toed up to the man laying on his belly. Jiraiya chuckled too enthusiastically as he gripped the ledge he was laying on - one of them had stood up and stretched, fixing her hair. Naruto removed a kunai from his pouch slowly, put his hands together with the edge of it sticking out between his fore and middle fingers, readied his strike..

"One-Thousand Years of Pain!" Naruto jammed the exposed point into Jiraiya's tail bone, who after a split second of laying there, shot up like a rocket yelling with a strangled, distancing 'whoa-ho-ho-hoooo!' Jiraiya disappeared into the sun with a glint, but promptly shot down into the hot bath causing a fountrain to spray up where he had impacted the water. With a wall of screaching, Jiraiya looked up to watch himself receive something he could not defend against - being beaten by a bunch of beautiful, naked women. He happily lay there twitching in pain and pleasure, tendrils of drool hanging from his open-smiled mouth as the bath vacated after the scuffle. Naruto sighed and picked up the scroll. It was Jiraiya's apparent 'brain storming,' which was a bunch of hentai**(2)** sketchings of the women he had been viewing, and some Naruto had not seen in the bath at that time. Naruto hopped down to his sensei.

"Ero-sensei, couldn't you have become ten times stronger if you spent your peeping time training instead?" Naruto glared at his sensei with his eyes closed. Jiraiya came out of his painful but pleasured shock, the strange replay of naked, angry women attacking him disappearing from his mind and sat up.

In his masculine voice he said while puffing out his broad chest. "Che. If all I ever did was train, I'd be a clueless dummy who didn't enjoy life. I'd probably be bald and hunched over with a walking stick, and only look foreward to eating a bowl of hot white rice at the day's end - just like how you will be." Jiraiya helped himself up, grumbling. Adjusting his decorated, metal forehead protector, Jiraiya asked out loud, "Why do I have to teach this boring kid all my jutsu? She acts like I'm his father.." but then brightened and eyed Naruto evilly. "**Na-ru-to**," he sounded out the name to emphasize it.

"Ne?" Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, squinting suspiciously.

"How..old are you now?" Jiraiya could hardly surpress a grin, but managed to keep it to a semi jovial looking smile. It looked weird.

"Ano..thirteen..I'll be fourteen in a couple of months, why?" Naruto wondered if he had just made a fatal mistake - he had. Immediately Jiraiya brightened and animated, laughing a great deal. He knelt down next to Naruto, putting an arm across his shoulders. "Perfect-o! It's time to induct you as my true apprentice, Naruto, and teach you the greatest treasures of a true shinobi!" Naruto brightened, and almost jumping for joy, wide eyed and staring with utmost attention at his sensei.

"What kind of training is it, Ero-senin! What kind of super-secret jutsus are you gonna teach me to do!" His enthusiasm was beyond boyish. Jiraiya grinned wider, the red streaks running down either cheek bending to a strain.

"I'll teach you the ways of Icha Icha Paradise, so you can be its successor when I'm gone!" Jiraiya expanded his arm infront of Naruto, as if he was describing the most beautiful thing in the world. Naruto's posture and facial features drooped immediately.

"Ero-senin..I don't care about that kind of stuff." Jiraiya stood up, miffed, angry. Then he chuckled maliciously. "It's part of your training," he declared with an evil glint in his eye. "Tsunade told me to not slack off, so I have to teach you _ev-er-y-thing_." Naruto slapped a hand over his own face and drug it down, stretching his features. "We both know how Tsunade is when she gets angry."

"I don't want to learn about that kind of stuff, Ero-senin. I want to learn cool fighting jutsu to make me stronger. Can't we just pretend you taught me that Icha Icha junk?"

"I forbid it. I'm an _honest_, _upstanding _man, Naruto. A **legendary Sanin**, remember?" Jiraiya put his hands on his hips, broad chest sticking out. He had especially emphasized 'upstanding' and 'legendary Sanin.' "You either take the whole deal or none of it - and tell Tsunade yourself that you didn't want my training." Naruto grumbled. It wasn't a big deal, it's not like it was going to change who he was.

Grumpily he muttered, "Just as long as we spend more time training the useful stuff over your preverted antics..." the two left the dangerous environment (Naruto didn't want to be mistaken) to begin his 'training.'

For the very first day of Naruto's training, Jiraiya taught Naruto his strict excesizes of 'stealth' jutsu. Naruto was to attempt to hide himself in crowded places, unnoticed, and spy on its occupants while jotting down notes, both unnoticed. Surprisingly, it typically used very little genjutsu as opposed to just natural skill and taking advantage of line of sight. Naruto knew Jiraiya's main purpose behind teaching him to improve his stealth was so he could take notes for Icha Icha Paradise in place of the pervert himself, but Naruto also knew that such training could be beneficial in other ways.

The training didn't go smoothly though. Jiraiya had forced Naruto's destinations to always involve women naked, scantily clad or changing. Naruto had attempted to make his notes innocent enough, things like how many lockers were in the lady's room, but somehow that just didn't cut it whenever the two were caught mainly do to Jiraiya getting loudly excited. By the end of the day, and many beatings avoided and taken, Naruto found himself dragging his sore body back to his apartment.

"Obaachan had to force Ero-senin to train me? She must hate me.." he drug himself into his room. Hot ramen, hot shower, welcoming sleep.

Apparently Jiraiya's adamant teaching had drilled itself into Naruto better than he had hoped. The adolescent nin found himself repeating the steps to successful 'stealth,' and 'reconnossaince,' in his dreams. Ontop of a classical style roof, Naruto found himself peeping down into a private bath house, laying flat on his stomach to blend himself into the roof**(3)** much like how he had come across Jiraiya earlier that day. Peering down he saw the lovely little Hinata in only a towel, looking around fretfully. He found himself commenting something much like Jiraiya would've said - _Don't worry little pretty. There's no one watching - except for me!_ Followed by a boyish chuckle that mirrored his sensei's. With a start though, Hinata's pale gaze locked in on Naruto.

_"Naruto-kun, what're you doing up there! You're..you're a bad boy!" _she said loudly (Hinata rarely yelled after all) as she turned and tried to make her figure indistinguishable to Naruto, clutching her towel about herself to cover herself up more.

It only caused him to laugh boistrously and stand with his chest out, much like his mentor, then point his finger at her. _"I am the Icha Icha Paradise successor! Such actions are meaningless - I can still see your lovely figure!" _He cackled enthusiastically to the low hanging moon in the sky, before something whizzed past his cheek. Looking behind him, he saw the older and taller Neji with his fingers full of kunai**(4)**, running at him from the ground. His eyes, similiar to Hinata's, were filled with murderous intent, the nerves and veins to the sides of them between the ears pressing against the flesh.

_"Naruto! You bastard, how could you slink to such a low! I..I..respected you.." _Neji hunched his shoulders, _"but..but..you're just a pervert!"_ Neji extended his arms from his chest outward, flinging a shower of Kunai at Naruto. Naruto felt groggy, the world he was just in swirling away. Neji's "pervert," kept ringing in his ears though as he found himself in the real world. _I'm going to kill Ero-senin dattebayo.._ Naruto grumbled, pawing his face to try to wake himself up.

Hot shower, hot ramen, out the door. Naruto despite his dislike of his initial lesson, scanned the rooftops for Jiraiya. Surprised that he wasn't near the bathing houses, Naruto jumped to a higher vantage point to scan the village better - a lesson he had actually picked up from his sensei. Squinting, he thought he saw the familiar outline only produced by viewing Jiraiya's back. He was far off near the training grounds commonly used by Genin. Grumbling, Naruto began to close the distance.

"Ero-senin," Naruto began in an aggravated tone, but was immediately hushed by Jiraiya's hand, without the older man turning. Kneeling down, Jiraiya directed Naruto's gaze to his own center of attention: team Kurenai. Despite it being early, the summer days were typically hot by mid-morning. The team had dressed down, shedding their coats (and in Kurenai's case, her gi jacket). Shino seemed unphased by the heat though and persisted to wear his trademark jacket, ironically enough. _Wow, so she looks just like I had figured in my dreams.._ Naruto shook his head, angry with himself. He wasn't supposed to think of that about his friends! Naruto watched quietly as Kiba with Akamaru, Kurenai and Hinata went about their business. Jiraiya was getting excessively - and dangerously excited the more he watched the beautiful jounin. Naruto bit his lip. While he normally would want to get out of here, he couldn't help but spy on his good friend when she finally was dressed down and unbashful.

Unfortunately his spying was interrupted with a cold-sweat inducing start when Jiraiya began, per usual, to escalate his excitement to noisy levels. Jiraiya choked, full of emotion, "Wow look at that babe Kurenai! Her face is so lovely with the exactly perfect body to go along with it, it makes me shiver!"

"Huh? What was that?" Kurenai looked around. Kiba sniffed the air. _Shimatta!_ Naruto placed his back against the trunk of the tree.

"Mm..something smells off. I'll go check it out!" Naruto heard the padding of Kiba and Akamaru approaching dead on. Panicked, he looked at Jiraiya for guidance as he hyper-ventalated, pressing his back and palms against the tree trunk.

In a whisper, Jiraiya instructed his pupil. "Naruto, in this scenario..sometimes one must play Shougi**(5)**. In Shougi, all that matters is the king!" A sharp, disabilitating pain spread through Naruto's mid-section as Jiraiya knocked the air out of Naruto, having punched his diaphram. Naruto almost fell foreward, bending over from the paralyzing pain in a cold sweat. Jiraiya hurriedly turned and hopped into the brush, scrambling away.

He ground his teeth angrily to find himself alone. _Che, if he's gonna blow our cover he could at least stay._ Naruto tried to poke his blonde head around the tree partially, just enough to see if Kiba was still coming. The others had resumed training, but Kiba wasn't in sight. Sweating, Naruto turned around.

"Dyahh!" Naruto tried to move backwards but smacked the back of his head into the tree trunk. "ittai ittai.."

"Yo, Naruto, did you want something?" Kiba's face with its trademark red streaks on the cheeks had been almost right infront of where Naruto's had been before he turned to look at the other four shinobi.

"N-no-nothing, eh heh heh." Naruto rubbed his sore spot, and tried to straighten himself out to ease the pain in his torso.

"You sure?" Kiba eyed him suspiciously. "You're not the shy type, I guess you were just..." Kiba's eyes narrowed. "..peeping?" Naruto reacted like he had been zapped with a live wire.

"Of course not!" He gesticulated wildly infront of his chest with his hands. "Nothing like that. I uh.." Naruto's mind raced. _Damn it, what would Jiraiya do? Er he already abandoned me. Damn it! No, don't get mad, think, think!_

"Ah ha ha!" Kiba looked like he suddenly realized something. He put his hand on the tree trunk, above Naruto and leaned so he could hang out into view of his team, waving with his free hand. "Hinata! Naruto wants to tell you something!" Kiba grinned widely to himself, and began to return to his other victim, while saying, "so, how do you feel about intruding in on our train-eh..?" Kiba blinked - Naruto had managed to disappear. Akamaru whined on his white back, righting himself up from the ground.

_Sorry, he was very quick at rubbing my belly._**(6)** Akamaru whined up apologetically at his companion.

"Che..what a slick one, really picking up the teachings of that one Sanin.." Kiba made an irritable gesture as Hinata approached. He sighed and the two rejoined their team.

Full of blazing fury, Naruto hopped from roof top to roof top. He found Jiraiya and immediately tackled him, though its impact had little effect as the Sanin kept his balance. "Damn it Ero-senin! How could you just abandon your student like that! Have you no shame?" He sobbed, and facing up Jiraiya's broad chest he pounded on it like how a futile child pounds on the chest of their parent. "They almost got me! It wasn't even my idea to begin with dattebayo!" He hid his face in Jiraiya's stomach and continued to sob and beat on the older man's chest. "What kind of adult are you to be peeping without self-restraint anyways, and then encouraging it in an innocent kid!"

Jiraiya patted Naruto's head. "So I see you're starting to come around to your senses...I'm actually proud of you though, Naruto." Jiraiya looked down at Naruto warmly, who stopped crying and backed up a couple of steps. Naruto rubbed away his tears with his sleeve. "You managed to slip out of their grasp. Sometimes a shinobi can not fight every battle - it's an invaluable skill to have." Naruto only sniffled. _What will Hinata think..?_

Jiraiya rotated his broad shoulders. He looked down at Naruto - they had changed locations to another Genin training grounds. Ironically enough, it wasn't far away from team Kurenai, but apparently Jiraiya was going to take those risks himself this time. He had drawn ten large circles in the dirt with his foot, and slashed them through the middle. They were around thirty feet in diameter each, and almost touching in a chain-link fashion.

"Naruto, you've shown natural skill in evasion. However, it may have just been a fluke, so let's test out your evasion skills." Naruto nodded once, eyes closed. "Here we have a bunch of 'conflict circles.' As you can see I've marked them each down the middle." Jiraiya motioned to the pattern in the ground. Naruto looked on curiously. "Your objective, Naruto, is to first pass me while staying inside of the circle and get over the line. If you step out, we start over, unless it's to move to the next circle. When you pass the first line, we will switch roles and I will try to evade my way inside of the circle to the other one, and we will switch roles again. Oh, and no weapons, jutsus or hitting - but try to grab, wrestle, push and restrain. Try to dodge your way to the over the lines. Are you ready?"

Naruto took a deep breath and nodded, determined. The two assumed stances to begin training akin to sumo wrestlers. From the line of trees, Hinata was watching Naruto while hugging the tree trunk she was next to, almost invisible. She had decided during their team's lunch break to return the favor and spy on her favorite, blonde crush.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Thank god, Sakura's one of my least favorite characters. I mean seriously, it took around two-hundred episodes for her to finally become useful. What'd she do before that? Dispell a genjutsu and bite some guy during the Chuunin Exams.**

**(2) 'Hentai' translates to 'pervert,' but can be related to pornographic drawings. Don't go off and google it now. Che...**

**(3) Orange jumpsuit, very sneaky camoflauge there...**

**(4) Kunai are small, hand-held throwing daggers. They usually are designed with a conical, aero-dynamic blade and a thin handle ended by a hollow loop.**

**(5) Shougi is the Japanese version of Chess.**

**(6) Akamaru's body language and animal noises he makes that only the Inuzuka clan can comprehend correctly.**


	10. Chp 10: When It Rains, It Pours

I hope I've gotten a good mixture of Jiraiya's perverted motivations as well as Martial Arts and Shinobi training all mixed together. I've read quite a few fanfictions and was disappointed at the theory not being grasped by other authors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto grumbled to himself, laying in his bed, his window open with a gentle breeze blowing. It had already been a few weeks, but no missions. Maybe it was just because his team sort of disolved, though it didn't upset Naruto - bad luck had plagued him the moment he was born. Trying to take his mind off the lack of action, he let it wander.

Why was everyone in his life so weird? All his friends were weird. All his family-like figures were weird. All his mentors were weird. Or was he the weird one, and this was just common environment for a Shinobi? Naruto profiled all the prominent figures in his life currently - something Jiraiya had trained him earlier that day to do. Naruto started with his friends, mainly because it was the largest group.

_Rock Lee: Nickname, 'Fuzzy Eyebrows.' Rock Lee's taijutsu is his only outstanding Shinobi trait, but he is an enduring, hard worker. Rock Lee's hobbies include insane physical training, babbling enthusiastically about the fire of youth and idolizing his Jackie Chan look-a-like sensei, Maitto Gai._

_Neji: He was obsessed with fate. That's delving deep enough._

_Tenten: She hangs around with three weirdoes all day and hasn't cracked yet. There has to be something abnormal about the sweet girl._ Naruto paused his thoughts for a moment. _62cm, 50cm, 60cm_**(1)** Naruto rattled off in his head, and nodded to himself confidently.

_Inuzuka Kiba: An equally loud and arrogant adolescent to myself. I've heard he's taken his dog out to aerial pee before..makes one wonder..._

_Aburame Shino: The most silent of our peers. The only time I've ever seen him laugh is when he ate laughing poison._

_Hyuuga Hinata: A very timid, shy, dark sort of girl who normally becomes bashful when I try talking to her and looks away. She's prone to fainting and blushing frequently. 74cm, 55cm, 78cm_ Naruto mulled over the measurements.

_Akamichi Chouji: While eating all the time doesn't sound that odd, he becomes extremely competitive and dramatic when 'the last bite,' is involved._

_Nara Shikamaru: A lazy guy who would rather stare his life away at the sky, yet was the first to receive Chuunin rank. Talk about weird._

_Yamanaka Ino: A girl who used to be a Sasuke freak, she seems to have calmed down on that aspect. However, she's still unnaturally obsessed with being slim. Hm..55cm, 45cm, 62cm I think._

_Haruno Sakura: Another former Sasuke freak, though she clearly still 'holds a candle' to that dumbass as Jiraiya would put it. She has a big forehead. 67cm, 50cm, 70cm._

_Uchiha Sasuke: _Naruto tossed his head in anger and skipped the jerk. That left his family figures and mentors.

_Hatake Kakashi: One-eyed weirdo obsessed with Ero-senin's book. He's normally so into it he can't hold a conversation properly._ Naruto hadn't seen his former sensei since that fateful night a long time ago. He wondered if he was alright.. Kakashi shuddered uncontrollably, huddled up in the corner of a dimmed, white room that only had a modest bed shoved to another corner. Tsunade frowned, knitting her small eyebrows and sighed. "What a time for a Jounin to have a break down.."

_Ero-senin: A super open pervert, shameless and bold in his ways of perversion. In a way he is fatherly, in another way he's a jerk who uses me as a throw-away pawn whenever we get discovered due to his overly enthusiastic and excited peeping._

_Unimo Iruka: A 'normal' pervert school teacher who in a sense raised me a bit. For those who wanted to argue it, I've KO'd him on several occasions with Sexy No Jutsu._

Naruto paused, then smiled. Yes, he concidered him a mentor too.

_Fang Shirasei: A thoughtful, young man who is 'unashamed' about being involved with a girl. The most peculiar thing about him is he seems to shut off his brain when he fights._ Naruto sighed. Shirasei had sort of taken the brother role Sasuke had abandoned, but unfortunately, the older shinobi could not really be around Naruto. He was from a different village and on a mission that had him traveling for an unknown amount of time. In their short time together though (not even a day), Naruto had felt the young man could really understand and relate to the blonde nin - at least more so than anyone else so far, and that there was a lot of things Shirasei could teach him. He sighed again, hoping to see his 'aniki' another time in the near future.

Speaking of training, Naruto's lessons with Jiraiya were progressing well. Unfortunately to Naruto who had hoped to immediately jump into a lot of tantalizing jutsus, Jiraiya had Naruto learning the basics of being a stalker and spy, undoubtably to help him in his 'information gatherings' for his Icha Icha Paradise book series ultimately. Naruto often found himself struggling with the urges of spying on his female peers, particularly a mysterious, bashful one. He had to know, but he knew he shouldn't do it. And worse - now he had the capabilities to spy with reckless abandon like Jiraiya. What would Shirasei tell Naruto? The young nin thought for a few moments. '_Everything in moderation, kid. If you go overboard, well, look at your sensei..'_ sounded out in Shirasei's deep voice. It seemed to fit the bill, but it still troubled Naruto since it basically told him to peep sometimes to satisfy his curiosity. He turned over uneasily, trying to slip away into peaceful sleep. He couldn't though.

All this..perversion..was stirring up his inner demon. At first Naruto wouldn't remember his dreams, but then they started to stick to his memory rather vividly. Or were they dreams? The fox would sometimes immitate his female peers and seduce him or worse. Then sometimes it would take on its own form that rivaled Tsunade's in measurements, having a head of flowing, calf-lengthed orange-red untamed hair with short, uneven bangs and smoldering red eyes. Naruto..didn't like the things the demon would do to him, like what he had seen in Icha Icha Paradise, yet he would like them at the same time. It was a weird, uncomfortable sensation in his stomach mainly that was addictive.

Naruto pawed his face. _Damn Ero-senin..he's causing all this..weirdness._ The troubled youth eventually did find sleep, and of course was molested by his inner demon a good deal that night. No need to go into details.

When Naruto awoke with yet again, a sticky lap, he sighed. Hot shower, hot raman, fresh air. Naruto took to the roofs, searching for Jiraiya. After twenty minutes of no success though, he got worried. _Did he get caught and is being held up somewhere? That'd probably be the police station..or maybe Obaachan sent him on a mission by himself. That'd mean bugging her but, between the police station and Obaachan..well, I have some complaints hanging on me right now, so as Jiraiya would say, 'laying low' is the best idea._ Naruto directed himself to Tsunade's office.

Outside of the Hokage's doors, he opened it a crack, going normal pace to enter. However, he immediately met the soft but intelligible hum of a conversation and quickly stuck his fingers in the crack and managed to hook his fingers over its edge, stopping the door. He listened intently. It was the results of Jiraiya's training.

"Hokage-sama," a deep voice pleaded. "I know my country's made mistakes in the past with Konoha, but we have new leadership now. Wind Country allying itself with you made us have to as well, being we're right on your boarder. You have to trust me, Akatsuki's a threat to everyone." Tsunade answered with an irritable throat noise. "Please, you have to let me see your Sanin teammate. If you think I'm plotting anything, there's a reason why he's legendary. He wouldn't have a problem with a shinobi like myself."

Silence pursued, then Tsunade's youthful voice reached Naruto. "Jiraiya the Frog Charmer is out of the country. You can stay for the next few days waiting for his return, but you'll be under surveillance understandably." Naruto got the distinct image of Tsunade rubbing knitted eyebrows in his mind's eye**(2)**. It was a 'muscle' that Jiraiya had him develop a lot over the last few weeks. His mind's eye already had seen through the door and drawn who the other voice belonged to as well.

"If you'd excuse me then, Hokage-sama," the voice requested. Naruto heard Tsunade give an 'mh,' which he assumed was paired with a nod. The door's edge was gripped by nin-wrapped fingertips. As the door lifted away to reveal a familiar soft, blue and black plaid collared shirt, Naruto's expression lifted. Before Shirasei could make a surprised comment upon coming across the young nin suddenly, Tsunade's voice called out from over his shoulder.

"Hey, hey! Is that Naruto? Watch over that shinobi while he stays in our country, understood?" She sighed, close save. With Jiraiya gone, she could've had her hands full with a restless Naruto. Apparently her Sanin comrade had been rubbing off bad habits, teaching Naruto 'everything.' There was a small stack on her desk exclusively comprised of Naruto complaints - perverted ones.

"Yatta!" Naruto jumped for joy, pumping his arm. It surprised Tsunade who had expected a fierce battle of wills coming since she knew Naruto hated 'babysitting' missions, but smiling to herself, she decided not to create any unnecessary trouble, watching the two leave.

"When it rains, it pours huh?" Shirasei sighed through his half hair-covered face and stared a bit up at the sky.

"Ne? What's wrong aniki?" Naruto tugged on Shirasei's sleeve.

"Naruto," Shirasei chided, pulling his arm away. "You don't have to cling. What's on your mind?" He said almost irritably.

"Ano..ano I was wondering if um.." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "..if you could um..train me a little?" He grinned at the late-teenager.

"Train you?" Shirasei blinked at Naruto. The ring under his eye had lifted to almost undetectable status. Shirasei thought to himself quietly for a while, then turned back to Naruto as they walked. "I'll train you, but I can garauntee you won't like it, kid."

"Really?" Naruto ignored the end of the agreement, getting very excited. "What kinda super jutsu are you going to teach me? Will I be a crazy taijutsu fighter like you and Hinata-chan?!" Naruto bounced with energy. At first Shirasei was annoyed, but his features softened after that line.

"Mm..where is your little friend by the way?" Shirasei looked around, as if Hinata was hiding nearby (she was, blushing after being mentioned twice, but wasn't spotted because at that moment she had ducked behind her tree).

"Huh? I dunno, I guess a mission." Naruto trailed off, but shot right back at the original topic. "So what're you gonna train me in? What do I need to get?" They had arived at the local inn's entrance.

"Nothing, kid. I have everything you'll need for this." Shirase registered at the counter, Naruto hardly being able to contain his joy. They continued down the hall to Shirasei's room, and entered the small, modest area after the older shinobi unlocked it. Naruto retrained himself from jumping on the bed, screaming for joy. Finally a sensei with..sense.

"Mm..well then." Shirasei rotated his shoulder, popping it. With a wince he groaned. Naruto's energy leveled and he became serious, as if preparing for a sparring session. Shirasei went over to the bed and picked up a writing pad and pen. He sat down on the side of the edge of the bed, and smiled at Naruto. The blonde nin walked over to Shirasei curiously, and blinked.

"Aniki, what're you doing? Aren't we going to go outside and train?"

"I told you we'll train, but we don't have to go outside for it. Here." Shirasei stuck the edge of the writing pad into Naruto and held out the pen. Naruto instantly became wide-eyed to the point of hurt with his mouth gaping.

"I'm not in the academy anymore dattebayo! What're you trying to give me homework for!" He squirmed away from the writing implements, clawing at the wall while fearfully watching the older shinobi. Shirasei couldn't help but chuckle mildly.

"Ahou, this will help your nindo. Come here and at least give it a try." Naruto froze, remembering his first trip all alone with Hinata. He had to try new things at least once. Begrudgingly he returned to Shirasei and picked up the two items unwieldedly. "See? Not so bad now. I'm sure you're wondering why I chose this way to train you, correct?" Shirasei looked patiently at Naruto's sour face, who only deemed the question nod worthy. "This may surprise you, but writing and taijutsu are very similiar. Both stretch for rare paths. Undiscovered, unique and moving beauty is if you were to ask me, just as powerful as your one jutsu you used the first time we met." Shirasei played with his hair, noticing Naruto's lost look. "If you expand this," Shirasei touched his own temple, "then you increase the strength of your ninja talents. It's important to have an imaginative mind and strong heart, not just drown yourself in jutsu, Naruto." Naruto thought about it, and nodded. The blonde nin sat himself down next to his larger friend.

"Ano..what do you want me to do though?" Naruto blinked at the pad.

"Hm..well for future training, perhaps it would be best to teach you this excersize. It's something I still use all the time to this day." Shirasei took the pad and wrote towards the left, 'Shirasei,' then towards the right, 'Naruto.' Smiling, he began to jot down what looked like random notes underneath his name**(3)** - "Prefers Taijutsu(4), has weak seal knowledge and use(2), has moderate genjutsu(2), excels at ninjutsu(4), moderate force(2), moderate speed(2), moderate stamina(2). Fairly weak at long distance fighting, and larger weapons." he smiled at Naruto, placing the pad in the younger nin's lap and then the pen ontop of it. "My details are of course, more in-depth. I've had a bingo book**(4)** page or two of myself shoved in my face before. Don't be disappointed though, try to write what you prefer and excel at and what you don't and feel you are lacking.

Naruto bit his lip, then began to fill it out. When he had finished, Shirasei smiled softly and took the pad back, striking a line under the furthest comment. He then put their names again similiarly. "Now that we know what our strengths and weaknesses are comparatively, we can try to see what would be the best method to train together. What you do is draw two circles (the young man did so) with a good portion connecting. We put our shared traits in the portion that both circles share, our opposites on the furthest side of the circles, and in-betweens well, halfway to the shared portion, see?" Shirasei began to fill out the diagram. Naruto had an enchanted look on his face as he issued a 'wow.'

"There. Here we see we both prefer taijutsu, so lots of unarmed combat sounds ideal for training together. We also are weak on genjutsu and seals, so no use trying to mess around with them when neither of us really knows what they're doing. Both of our ninjutsu is high, so we could test out advanced ninjutsu against each other, or possibly even come up with new ideas that would've only happened from sharing knowledge and theories with each other." Shirasei bit the end of his pen, thinking. "It's a very efficient way to find compatability with another person. This includes opponents, see?" Naruto nodded, still dumbfounded at the power of writing. "Here, if we look at it as if we were opponents, we see that our fight is going to consist of ninjutsu and taijutsu. We could expect the other to probably not use a weapon, and no truly fancy illusions. I would expect you to outlast me if we just stood there and slugged it out, and if you had the same information, you would be expecting me to end this fight as soon as possible if you took me as an experienced nin." Shirasei tapped the page a few times with each comparison he made. "This is something my best friend taught me, and I've used it almost every day ever since. It's like a habit for me know up here," Shirasei tapped his temple, looking down at the younger nin. Shirasei smiled warmly at Naruto, who broke a wide one of his own.

"Wow aniki. I thought being a shinobi had nothing to do with writing dattebayo! That's amazing, what else can you do with writing as a ninja?" The thought of how Naruto went from acting like it was the worst tasting medicine to the most delicious substance on earth amused the older ninja a bit.

"M..well." Shirasei turned to a fresh page. "While you probably won't hear it from anyone else, I've found writing and reading to help me a lot throughout my travels, even when I read and wrote about nothing to do with being a ninja." Naruto gave that confused look again.

He laughed softly at Naruto's expression. "Look, it's logic. Think about it this way - when you write something you want to be interesting, you need details, right? Details and information is a very important tool for nins. Some would even say it's a weapon. Creative writing and reading, including things that some would call silly such as poems I feel really helped myself expand in this area. Helped me to see things from different view points than what I would've initially thought. Helped me to create." Shirasei gave a soft expression to his younger companion, what must've been his look when he confessed something heartfelt and earnest. "The power of a creater is greater than that of a destroyer." Naruto didn't quite understand, but nodded anyways, wanting the lessons to continue.

"Ano..aniki you said here too," Naruto indicated his heart.

"Yes, I did. I met Sarutobi briefly, so I'd assume he's said something similiar before." Shirasei said with a faint smile. Naruto nodded once, solemly. "It's important to have things to cherish, to strive for, to want to protect, to want to achieve and create. This drive can push a person, regardless of their occupation, to its body and mind's limit. All three things are connected. Let me show you something that I've only shown one other person before," Shirasei said as he flipped through the filled pages. He came across one that had the words fairly spread out. "I wrote this for my lover, and it helps me remember even though I haven't seen her for a few years why I love her so much, what she looks like, how she felt, and that she's still waiting for me to return someday. The power of my heart helps my mind, see? And that can give me the strength I wouldn't have had sometimes to push myself further. Love is a very powerful thing, kid." Shirasei ruffled Naruto's messy hair at the 'cooties are gross' look he was given. Naruto turned his eyes down to the page below him**(5)**.

_**The Queen of Dreams**_

_**On a rock with chestnut lockes,**_

_**Stands the Queen of my dreams.**_

_**With diamond tears she appears,**_

_**Standing there with wind in hair.**_

_**All can see that she holds a key,**_

_**A vital part that unlocks my heart.**_

_**She stands alone looking prone,**_

_**Watching for her missing lover.**_

**_She winces with reminiscence_**,

_**Trying to convince herself of her Prince.**_

_**His loving arms did no harm,**_

_**As he stroked her hair with only care.**_

_**Their eyes entwined until sunrise,**_

_**Holding each other as true lovers.**_

_**Now alone, trapped at home, **_

**_My Queen remembers her faded dream._**

"Oh, aniki. Um.." Shirasei blinked at Naruto. "What's this word mean? And this, and this, and this?" Naruto began to tap different words with his finger tips. Shirasei hung his head and sighed, collecting up the writing pad and pen. "Nevermind, kid. Anyways, that's my training. I have to excersize and other junk, if you don't mind. Don't forget that this is something you can do completely on your own." He shooed an unwilling Naruto out of his room, who found himself lost in thought.

What Shirasei had shown Naruto was something he would've never imagined or linked to being a ninja. It was a completely different approach, and it could be applied to most things. It was intriguing. Naruto began to go down his list of 'weirdoes' and create dual circles in his mind.

"That kid," Shirasei muttered to himself, watching him from his balcony. "When it rains, it pours with him."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes **

**(1) These are measurements (bust, stomach, hips). What? Jiraiya trained him..keep in mind that these girls are adolescents, so tell me if you think it's wildly off. Unfortunately I'm no Jiraiya.**

**(2) In Zen, this is a highly practiced belief and ability that allows the person to visualize imagery in their mind and focus as if it was the only thing existing to them.**

**(3) The numbers following the listed attribute follow the same system and principle as seen in Naruto on their profile pages and cards on the website leafninja (linked in my profile). _Ninjutsu _(particularly powerful techniques are normally declared by 'ninpo' before the name) is the art of deception and stealth. _Taijutsu_ is unarmed combat. _Genjutsu_ is the art of creating illusions by affecting a victim's sensory system and in a way, being as real as possible without being real. _Intelligence_ is a shinobi's ability to react to situations and process information, form strategies and create their own techniques. _Force_ is a nin's strength. _Speed_ is their movement capabilities. _Stamina_ refers to a ninja's chakra reserves, though the author feels it also effects their physical stamina a great deal too. _Seal Knowledge_ is one's understanding of the various hand seals, blood seals, curse seals and scroll seals which enables them to do many wonderous things, such as summon giant creatures to aid the ninja or create a barrier for example.**

**(4) The Bingo Book is a book every Chuunin and Jounin carries. It's a who's-who for every ninja country of its criminal or potentially dangerous ninja from its own country or rival countries. Bounties are also posted inside of these books.**

**(5) This is the author's very first poem. He still feels it's his best writing work to this day (other poetry he's written can be seen at his blog thingy which is linked on his profile page).**


	11. Chp 11: Why No Women Are In Akatsuki

I'm sure readers are interested in a particular OC by now, so I'll indulge a bit.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was hot and sunny, but not opressive. A few lazy clouds clung to the vivid, blue skies. Small, dainty, socked feet attatched to a pair of wooden geta halted in their unhurried walk. Two figures in black cloaks, covered in sparse, red clouds approached the figure below them, standing in a dried-out river bed rapidly. They landed thirty or so feet away, facing the small person. One of them - the smaller one stepped foreward a bit, bringing his right hand up and holding it steady near his shoulder. His fingernails were manicured light purple. On the outside of his robes, he had two curved katana crossed over the middle of his back, handles pointing out near his shoulders. Across his forehead was the headband and metal plate of a shinobi, the design on the plate being four slightly waved lines in the middle. There was a harsh gash marred across the middle of the design. This man was a few days past due for a shave.

"There's no need for this," the other one urged, angrily. "You're stirring a bee's nest when we don't want the honey."

"Urusei!" The larger of the robed figures tossed his head angrily.

"I'm not involved in this," he clearly stated, stepping back a handful of large paces.

"Figures, you coward. But no need to make up an excuse, I wanted this to be one on one." The older looking, tanned man glowered at his target. He was bulky and muscular, his center of attention was small and slight.

"Don't press my temper," came out a whisper from the smallest figure at the dried up river. It was loud enough to be heard in normal conversation, but lacked any use of vocal cords.

"Big words for such a soft spoken wimp. I bet you're just trying to mask your voice shaking!" The middle aged man ground his teeth, reaching up to the handle of his sword, ready to spring. The small body infront of him tensed, causing him to start a little, tensing a bit reflexively. The figure raised its head.

It was a petite woman, young and with beautiful, smooth, creamy skin. She had uneven, deep green bangs that parted enough to reveal a pair of sullen, half-closed electric blue eyes. She had full eye lashes and rosy lips. A high pony tail was formed, jutting out at a diagonal angle from her hair, being tied up in a nin wrapping for a few inches, then letting the hair hang unevenly from the end. She wore a thick, baggy, blood red gi over a skin tight, dark grey body suit. The right sleeve of her gi jacket did not cover her arm, and the sleeve had been unceremoniously pulled behind her waist and tucked behind the long, straight, wooden sheath that clung angled to her small, curved, right hip. This displayed that her body suit only reached to a little past her small shoulders. Across her back ran a much longer, heavier looking sheath that was slightly angled to put the longer, larger handle of a straight-edge katana off centered from her head, between her left shoulder and neck. She had been carrying a small, hand-sized black lacored wood and white papered fan but was now in the process of folding it up and tucking it inside of her open gi vest, at the waist. Her palms and the backs of her hands were nin-wrapped, but apparently nothing else.

"Since you want to die so badly, I shall grant your wish," she said angrily, in her whisper tone at the man blocking her path. She stood calmly, flicking out her arm as if in iritation, she placed her right hand on the end of her shorter, the sword's sheath that was attatched to her hip, under that sword's hilt. Her thumb popped the hesitant blade from being locked inside of its holder up an inch and a half or so. She shifted her weight to better pull it from its location in the near future. The small woman narrowed her eyes, lowering her thin but long eyebrows and giving an intense glare at the larger, taller man.

The air was tense, as if something foreboding and permanant was about to take place. The man infront of her gripped his sword, growling at her. "There's only enough room for one legendary swordsman from Rain, in or out of Akatsuki! Die, Tameiya Ashura!" And without a pause, he erupted one long, deep note from his lips, as he quickly stomped towards the small woman. As he drew the sword in a vertically twirling fashion, the small woman reached across her body with her left hand and tightly gripped the handle. His blade came down at her from the outside of her sword arm.

In a fan-like motion, Tameiya unsheathed her straight blade, keeping her fist near her sternum. The sword rotated counter-clockwise, towards the curved, incoming blade of her opponent. With a sharp scraping sound, the blades sung as the straight katana bit into the top and side of the curved, pushing the man away from her shoulder, away from her body as he continued to move foreward. He began to reach up with his other hand to his free sword as he was being carried past her due to momentum. When she had turned her hand enough so that her handle stuck up around two / two-thirty if represented by a clock, she made a short motion and grabbed the bottom of her hilt with her right hand while moving foreward with her left leg, going under and to the side of her opponent's free arm. There was a mixed sound of thick, cut fabric and something wet as she lunged past the larger body, turning her back towards it and bringing her weapon angled upwards, out from her shoulder and head, pointed at the sky.

The spectator gasped, even taking an invulentary step back - the woman had looked like a blur for a few moments. She continued to spin an extra rotation from her stroke, slow and lazy as she slid elegantly until she had rotated to the direction she was originally facing and came to a graceful stop with her head bowed slightly. Though her body had stopped, she was still in motion with her left hand on the sword. It did an even, lazy, figure "eight" on its side infront of her body starting at the right shoulder, causing two wet sloshes to issue from the ground when it crossed the "x" of the figure each time. On the second motion, she turned her wrist a bit and ended the movement with her katana sliding into its wooden sheath slowly, her middle and forefinger squeezing the side of her katana, her soul, removing stubborn blood. She irritably flicked her fingers a few times, holding her dainty, partially wrapped hand off to the side.

Behind her in the expanding dust trail she had left, the larger mass crashed into the dry dirt and spilled thick fluids out of itself. The other robed figure winced in a bit of disgust at the goriness of the scene, while a lot of red substance and glistening pinkish objects poured out of the openenings. He sighed. "I tried to stop him, not my fault.." he covered his mouth and nose with one hand to shield himself from the horribly powerful stench unique to death. He had killed enough to know it's scent was thick and its retch-inducing effect was almost instantaneous, heavy as if trying to cling to one's being

"God damned nobody.." . The small woman began to put one foot infront of the other, walking unhurriedly again along the original path she had intended to. Her uniform did little to hide the mesmerizing pattern her hips played from the line she walked.

"He-hey wait a moment!" The still standing robed figure reached out pointless with his free hand, being there were around thirty feet apart from each other. He was nearly twice her size. She stopped, and turned her head to partially look over her shoulder at the man. She placed her right hand near the end of the sheath at her hips, under the hilt.

"No-no-no! I'm not here to fight, remember?" The man waved his hands infront of himself. "I know you've declined up until now, but we have an opening - you've definately earned it. Sure you won't change your mind?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. The whisper reached his ear after a few moments, "You red ballon clowns**(1)** get on my nerves. I'll look down upon you from the top some day," and without any caution, the small woman turned so she was completely facing away, walking slowly again. She reached inside of her red vest at the waist with her right and, pulled out her fan, spread it, and lazily waved it near her neck and cheek as she continued her aimless pace. On the fan was the bold caligraphy of 'shitashii'**(2)** inside of a thick box frame.

"Damn.." the still standing man went over to his fallen comrade and removed his heavy, scarlet, engraved ring. "Should've listened." And with the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Shirasei was relaxed. Very hot showers were the best. His hair on the other hand - what a hassle. He'd have to dry it and dry it for over half an hour. Stepping out of the bathroom with his windbreaker pants on, he continued to try to dry the perhaps overly long hair of his. His chest was covered by the seemingly random inch-wide streaks of scar tissue. He started as though shocked by electricity, dropping his towel. Outside of his clear sliding door, on the balcony was the number one hyperactive ninja. The orange clad boy had his back turned to Shirasei though, watching out at the village. His orange clashed violently with the bright blue of the skies surrounding him from Shirasei's vantage point, making the young man rub his head where a strange sensation that seemed to instinctively threaten a headache from eyestrain was prickling. He opened the door.

"Aren't you supposed to be gone?" he asked iritably.

"Nope. Remember what Tsunade Obaachan said? I have to watch over you," Naruto replied, giving a nice shot of his whiskers on his cheek from the angle he had turned, perched on the railing. Shirasei sighed.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. Well, what am I gonna have to do now?" His eyes glinted maliciously though. He had a trump card.

"Train me more aniki?" Naruto sounded hopeful.

"Mm...I suppose I could." Naruto's companion mused, rubbing his still moist lips and adjoining skin. "Not deterred by the odd method of teaching yet, huh?"

"Nope, not in the least! Believe it." Naruto hopped down from the railing and grinned up at the young man. "It's actually been the funnest training I've had yet, and I've had a lot of different methods used on me. Eh heh heh." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. Shirasei stretched, and began to do his nin wrappings on his chest.

"We could always use the buddy system," Shirasei commented as he began to hide his long, inch-wide scars. A few stubborn ends of scarring managed to trace their ways to the top of his stomach though. On his back he had a series of them, evenly spaced and measured, as if someone had combined a cross and an 'x' so that the apexes were shared. Naruto tilted his head quizzically.

"Buddy system?"

Shirasei shot Naruto one of his uncharacteristic grins, from behind his closest arm. "I'll go find Hinata for you then." Naruto jumped and nearly fell backwards, flipping over the railing.

"N-n-n-no don't go and do that, aniki! I meant just train the two of us. There's two of us, right? We could do the buddy system like that, let's do the buddy system like that dattebayo!" Naruto rambled off.

"Ah, I'm not very experienced with that method anyways, I was just teasing you." Shirasei couldn't help but dip the ending of the sentence it in sing-song enthusiasm.

Naruto made an irritable gesture by tossing his head with his eyes closed. There were more serious reasons why he was avoiding Hinata than what Shirasei thought, damn it! He had to avoid those kinds of situations so he could stop having to do laundry every couple of days. Shirasei was still highly amused, laughing a small amount. "You remind me of Tameiya." The aggravation morphed into curiosity instantaneously.

"Really? What was she like, aniki? That's a good thing right?" Naruto didn't give his friend any time to reply between questions until he stopped him with his hand - had to or he'd go too far to remember them all.

"Mm, well." Shirasei gave a wry smile, took a deep breath and tried to think of how to explain his relationship and feelings for his former teammate.

Tameiya sneezed with her teeth gritted. She took out the dry cat's tail and flicked the weed away. _Must be allergic to those damn things_, she concluded. She leaned back on her palms and bottom, gazing up at the sky. It reminded her of when she was still a young girl, when she had been happy. The young woman sighed softly. The unique persistance of not using her vocal cords showed in the gesture.

_How exactly did I come to be here? Why? Why has everything turned out this way? Why was everything so unfair...Why wasn't I.._ Tameiya closed her already half opened, deep blue eyes, and searched her soul and memory.

_"Look at that weird kid Tameiya!" her small companion said in a high pitched, child like voice. She pointed across from them - under a tree sat a boy their age, avidly writing on a large paper pad. "He's writing, and we didn't even get any homework!" The observation caused a giggle to chorus through the group of girls. He had a hand-sized, green parrot on his shoulder, who animatedly bobbed and looked around at the surroundings. Sometimes it would turn and with it's black beak, comb the boy's wavey hair in a motion that moved its entire body. Its wings and tail went from dull green to deep blue in a sudden, vivid contrast at their tips. Once in the while, not looking up from his writing, the boy would run his hand down the body of the bird's contour's, softly squeezing it as he did so. The image of the bird combing the boy's hair had made Tameiya giggle. "I bet he's a real wimp. Let's go tease him some! Come on!" they began to walk towards the boy but after a handful of steps but after they realized Tameiya had not followed them, they turned. "What's wrong?" _

_She shook her head. "I'd rather go practice kenjutsu**(3)**. Wanna come?" The girls in her memory thought, then nodded. They left the boy alone. A last glance over her small shoulder had told Tameiya the boy had put the pen and paper down, holding the perched creature on an extended forefinger not far from his face. He was scratching about its soft, puffing belly and under its wings while he smiled softly, adoringly at it. It stretched its small neck and softly nibbled on the ridge of the boy's nose as he did so._

_The next day she had found him standing, face aimed at the ground, hanging his head on the way to the academy. She walked over to him, but he didn't seem to notice._

_"What's wrong?" she pried as she approached him. Startled, she saw him lift his tear-stained face to her, eyes sullen and swollen from crying. He stared at her for a long moment, breathing heavier than necessary as more tears followed the set paths on his cheeks. "Are you okay?"_

_He smiled, pained. She had never seen someone their age make that face before, but she felt it in her chest. "I guess...I'll live. But my friend didn't..." he gestured at the ground infront of him. Freshly dug dirt was piled over a few handfuls of earth, and there was a small piece of wood with a dull green feather attatched to it. The tip of it was a deep blue. _

_"What happened..?" Tameiya asked, concerned. He closed his eyes, his body tightening as he gave a rattling sigh._

_"I.." he didn't look like he wanted to answer. However, with a self-hating look he forced himself to speak. "I accidently crushed her in my sleep," he admitted, and tears began anew at the confession. He clutched his heart with one of his hands, fingers raking his shirt. His shoulders shook as more bulging droplets pushed down the premade moisture trails on either cheek. "She was my only friend..now I'm all alone again..and its all my fault." Tameiya watched him, and genuinely felt her own heart ache, throat constrict with a dull pain. She stepped up to the boy and put her arms around his neck, and her own pain eased away somewhat. He was shocked at first, but put his arms around her small waist and back as he cried silently into her neck, burying the already excessively warmed flesh into her thin throat, hot, unsteady breathing pouring over her along with matching tears. She didn't know how long they had stood there, but from that day on they were practically inseparable. _

_But then all good things must come to an end.._

Tameiya opened her moist, hazy, intensely blue eyes, and raising a hand to her delicate face, slim fingers then palm enclosing it, covering her eyes, she whispered, "Shirasei.."

The young man jerked his head to aim his face away from Naruto and sneezed. "Sorry about that." He twitched his nose - Naruto laughed. One of his first impressions was that the guy had kind of a big nose. Maybe it was because he had small eyes and ears, Naruto wasn't quite sure. Shirasei shook his head a couple of times afterwards, hoping his nasal cavaties had cleared.

"Anyways, sometime after we had became genin, that's when everything started to fall apart. Or rather, she began to distance herself from me." Shirasei gave a pained, confused look.

"How so, aniki?"

"She just..avoided being alone with me more and more frequently until it became to the point where I was your age and she would only show up around me for missions or scheduled training. I guess that's why I spend so much time writing. It takes away the loneliness a bit..I miss her all the time, but.." he sighed at his younger companion.

"Ne?"

"Nothing, nevermind." _ Rain cascaded against everything, giving a steady, mellow, hollow patter. The image of him standing, his chest wrapped in bandages because inside of it was a mess, but still happy in the rain as he faced Tameiya's almost fully turned back had jumped at him from his mind. Her small hand had clenched the top of her sheath tightly. She shook, her entire smaller body quivering in the soft rain. _"So how about that training?" Yes training, it'd keep the painful memories away. Naruto brightened up and began jumping around Shirasei.

"You mean it? Really, really dattebayo? I'm ready, believe it!" Naruto blurtted without waiting for any confirmations, hunched over with his fists clenched near his chest. Shirasei smiled softly at the blonde nin's enthusiasm, topped by a held, open mouthed smile.

Naruto was not amused as a writing pad was thrown next to him on the bed. He grumbled when a spare pencil landed and rolled a little on it. "We're still training this way?"

"Well, if you'd rather not train..." Shirasei murmered.

"N-n-n-no I was just kidding! Just kidding! Just kidding.." Naruto waved his hands infront of himself.

"Mm, if you're going to be persistant.. Write your name for me, kid." Shirasei played with his thick hair as he watched. "Mm..okay well now write..uh..'dattebayo,' if you don't mind." Confused, Naruto did as he was told.

"I had thought this was the case." He continued to play with his hair, twirling his bangs tightly around two fingers and working his way down the locks to the near-curled ends. Naruto blinked up at him.

"Wha?" Shirasei moved to infront of Naruto and pointed at his signiture.

"This is how you should always be writing." Shirasei indicated Naruto's professional looking siginture. "This is how you normally do, though." He traced his finger down to the 'dattebayo.' It was pretty shakey, uneven, bent and to say the least, sloppy. Naruto squinted his eyes at Shirasei.

"What's this have to do with being a ninja?" He demanded.

Shirasei sighed, and sat down on the bed next to Naruto. "Remember what I said about writing and taijutsu? Look at how I write." Shirasei began to write 'Naruto is the number one hyperactive ninja.' on his own pad. "Do you see how much more neat mine is?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's because I write more efficiently. I use my movements to get the best results for the least amount of effort. This is how I was able to defeat you so easily last time, remember? I used my own energy more efficiently than you." A light bulb clicked inside of Naruto's head. "Yes, I see you get it now." The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Basically if we faught, until you became less sloppy with your movements while we fight, I'm always going to beat you to the punch and hit you harder with less effort, and therefore win. Remember how many times I hit you before you passed out?"

Naruto closed his eyes, straining his mind. "I think..seven?"

"Something like that. But your stamina if you remember our double circle excersize indicated you should've been able to take a lot of damage, even last longer than I had if I was hit by a similiar force repeatedly. Also, you're supposed to be physically stronger than I am." Naruto listened raptly. "Erase what you've written, Naruto." Naruto blinked a few times, but then did so, moving his arm all over the place. "Mmm, see again. Your energy is all over the place. Watch me, kid." Shirasei gently erased what he had written, only bothering to drag his eraser over the areas he had written over. "Do you get it?"

Naruto tried to piece it all together in his mind for a few moments. "I think so."

"Good, because I can't think of a simpler way to put it. Just remember though that your goal is to do this," Shirasei drew several dashing, slanted, connected lines that looked like nothing elligible, "with this," He stretched out a fairly long line above it. "rather than this," above that he made a curled line that looped a few times. "This first set of lines is going to achieve more effect with the same amount as shown here," he tapped the middle line, "rather than this top one using the same amount. Taijutsu is the same principle." Naruto mulled this over and locked it away in his mind - no reason to not mix Jiraiya's training with Shirasei's.

"I think I get it." Shirasei smiled softly at the blonde nin.

"The truth is Naruto, I like taijutsu a lot because of how similiar it is to writing, not the reverse. I've also learned quite a few different styles of martial arts, but I will tell you this upfront - the basics is where you get the most use of every style," he said, jabbing Naruto in the shoulder with the butt of his writing utensil. Naruto looked incredulously at the older nin.

"If you think all that fancy spinning flare is useful, it's not. Remember what I showed you with the three lines? The basics are always the necessities**(4)** - the most efficient movements. The ones that require the least amount of movement and energy but give you the most damage. When you get further up, the techniques you're taught typically are not nearly as useful. Why do this?" Shirasei drew a circle and then an 'x' in it. "When you can do this?" He just drew the 'x' this time. "The other might look more impressive but when someone does it, the smarter guy just does the easier one to achieve the same effect before the first guy can finish dancing around."

"I see." Naruto blinked a few times, looking at everything that had been written. Again, writing had taught Naruto what would've taken years of training the normal way to come to realize on his own. Shirasei smiled.

"I'm not so hot on seals, but they're the same principle. There's a way to condense them a good deal and I've figured it out a little bit, but I've only gotten it to around two at best result when all's said and done, and only on a few of my jutsu. I'm sure if you asked someone like Jiraiya The Frog Hermit, they'd probably manage to teach you to do jutsus without even having to perform seals." An aspect of being a ninja Naruto had hardly payed attention to before - seals. His seals were abysmal, but Shirasei's was only the next step up apparently. _Oh well, at least Ero-senin will be useful for something finally._

"Well, it's late. I think you should be heading home now and letting your anaki sleep, eh? I think I've earned it, right?" Shirasei rubbed his tired face. Naruto jumped up and headed to the door. Shirasei handed him his notepad and pencil. "Hey, try it out on your own a bit sometime, okay? No telling how long we'll be apart the next time I leave," Naruto nodded with an 'nh,' and made his way home.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes **

**(1) For those of you who didn't understand the jab at their organization's name, 'Akatsuki' means 'new begining.' It's spelt with the Japanese characters 'red' and 'moon,' however. **

**(2) Translates to '(close) friend.'**

**(3) 'Sword skills' or swordsmanship**

**(4) The author is also a firm believer of this.**


	12. Chp 12: Orange's The Best Stealth Color

Thanks again everyone for constructive criticism. **grumble** damn people not updating their own Naru x Hina stuff..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her small, round face smiled at the older man with similiar eyes - large and pale pupils. He returned the smile gently. While she was still weaker than her younger sister, perhaps too weak to ever be the true family heir, Hinata had blossomed a good deal. Her mission success average was steadily raising. She had defeated a jounin in a spar on a recent escapade, who had defeated Naruto easily - the boy who managed to scrape a win off of the prodigy Neji during the Chuunin exams. She was finally coming out of her nervous shell little by little, each passing day. Hiashi wondered if he would have to take back his word someday soon and reinstate young miss Hyuuga Hinata as the heir to the clan again. He hoped so. Though he wouldn't show it to anyone but her and only when they were alone or in their current company, he loved the eldest daughter of his own flesh and blood a good deal. Having to explain his brother Hizashi's feelings and death to his nephew had reminded him just how much to treasure family. But perhaps the missing strain from that burden was helping Hinata to flower a great deal..

Hinata turned her attention back to her two relatives, her younger sister Hanabi was sticking hands, sending wave after wave of chakra bursting from their palms as each of her attacks were deflected harmlessly by her older cousin Neji while she returned the action herself when he instantly counter-attacked. Sticking hands..she recalled happily her memories of sticking hands, completely dominating her opponent in her match. He was a jounin, the best shinobi in Rain currently. She turned her pale, lavender eyes to the exposed sky from their traditional dirt courtyard, staring up at the enchanting blue skies. _Naruto-kun, do you remember..?_

The sound of struggle ended abruptly, and Hinata lowered her attention from the heavens to her family. The two infront of here were exhausted, out of breath. Her father, with slow grace, rose and entered the center, the two occupants slowly taking his spot. Hinata raised herself, chin up and entered the center herself. Her father gave her another gentle, reasuring smile as they readied their open palms.

Ever since that fateful day, being all alone with her crush, Hinata had found herself slowly begining to climb. Good fortune seemed to have been going out of its way to find her. She discovered she was slowly becoming less of a hindrance to everyone around her to bringing proud smiles more frequently the further she went down the road. The only problem was..

Hinata looked over her shoulder as she walked to the training grounds. Her early morning after-breakfast session with her father had ended. She hadn't been able to lay a hand on him, but it didn't matter. She had done her best so far, taking a step ahead of her last session with him . Even if it was only a small step, it helped so much to know that her father was not angry and frustrated by it as he might've been half a year ago.

She couldn't shake the feeling though. As she grew more and more, she could swear that whenever she was alone, she was being watched unless she was watching her crush. Even sometimes when she was with her team, the sensation clung to the back of her neck and mind. Hinata bit her small but plush lip. _There's no need to use Byaakugan.._

As the shy girl cut through the trees, Naruto sighed and relaxed himself. He couldn't follow her to her training - her entire team consisted of the best abilities to track and expose the hidden. He wasn't about to make any ruckus after what had happened earlier that month. Though truthfully, without Jiraiya... _No, Obaachan told me to watch over aniki_. Naruto forced into his mind. He was begining to lose himself to the insatiable wiles of peeping. When he couldn't find an excuse not to, he found himself spying on his female peers quite often. Normally Hinata was the most interesting.

Ino would normally watch her flower shop. When she was free, she would shop. If she wasn't doing either, she was with her team - team Asuma. Even if the man was Sarutobi's son, her jounin captain didn't live up to being as attention grabbing as the third Hokage. He smoked, gave missions and lounged about contently. Sometimes Naruto would catch sights of him having brief contact with his nephew, the second most hyperactive ninja and his eternal rival, Konohamaru**(1)** during the day. Ino typically complained during training or as they headed out to attempt a mission together, but Naruto had noticed her giving Shikamaru _those_ looks while her teammate was staring absent mindedly at the sky, and everyone else wasn't paying attention.

His still-teammate-sort-of-not-anymore Sakura spent most of her free time studying at the library (she studied fervantly, nose burried in the books the few times Naruto had followed her and watched), or at the hospitol to which he assumed she was training under the Hokage and her assistant's tutalage. Once or twice he caught them training where he had became a genin, both possessing freakishly inhuman strength as he was fond of describing it. Sakura didn't seem very interesting, even if Naruto was able to think of many forehead jokes while watching her from a distance.

Ten Ten was a bit more attention garnering. She seemed to have the most diverse lifestyle. Her family ran a weapon and smithing shop, in which he sometimes caught her sheepishly look around, then rub her cheek against the cold, smooth metals of many different weapons. She trained classical taijutsu and many different weapon styles, making watching her practice fairly interesting. She would shop sometimes, or meet friends whom Naruto did not know (at least at first). Sometimes he caught her giving her two teammates _that_ look, but she seemed unable to make up her mind due to giving the unnoticed attention to both young boys.

Hinata was the most interesting to Naruto though. He wasn't sure if it was because her weird, shy personality screamed at his curiosity, but she seemed to hold his attention the best. She had a large shinobi family, so it gave him other people to gather info up on. Her background was steeped in tradition, her clan being the oldest in Konoha, which was just more stuff for Naruto to nose about in. Her housing was definately the most interesting with its classical design (Sakura lived in a regular house, Ten Ten and Ino in modest living complexes built into the second story of their family owned shops). Naruto found it an impossible gamble though to set foot in grounds to the Hyuuga mansion. Byaakugan was just too great a security system for his level of Jiraiyaijutsu, just like how coming near her training grounds while her team was there was proven to be a bad idea. He had been caught a few times but managed to pass it off as retrieving a stray kunai while training alone or something else plausible enough. After the initial run in with Kiba and Akamaru, thanks to that excitable lunk-head Jiraiya, they had seemed to be a lot more wary for spies.

The indigo haired, young girl also seemed to be changing gradually, which Naruto was happy for her about. He remembered her confession that she had wanted to change. _Is it because of me again?_ He pondered to himself quietly. Looking over his shoulder, the small figure having shrunk to an appropriate size to reach her teammates, Naruto checked the time by the sun's position in the sky. Just another thing Jiraiya had forced him to learn, and like everything else, Naruto had tried to reason with himself that there were non-peeping utilities to the skill. It must've been around nine-thirty in the morning. Time to go bug aniki - it was a mission from Obaachan after all. Naruto hopped around via roof. Ever since his first day of training, it had been his preferred method of travel. He had an advantage to accidently stumble upon intense, attention grabbing, peeping requiring events from his vantage point and had a higher possibility of accidently eavesdropping unnoticed from roof levels. _Damn that Ero-senin..now I think I understand a bit why he wastes so much time peeping. There's so much to see, so much to know that you're not supposed to. It's addictive._ Naruto recalled one time he had been rewarded by seeing Kiba scratch behind his ear with his foot, like a dog as he yawned, having just awoken from a lazy mid-day nap. The blonde chuckled.

Naruto was irritated when he found Shirasei's room missing the nin, having let himself in via the balcony. The man's signiture writing pad and utensil were laying on his bed but it seemed that was all he had brought with him on his journey (Naruto had taken the liberty to snoop around the room). _Might as well while I have the chance_, damn Jiraiya logic. Confused, Naruto exitted and decided to take a high vantage point. He scanned for that easy to spot blue and black checkered shirt and signiture hair..when his eyebrows raised in surprise, it wasn't because he had found his friend. At least not intentionally. Naruto saw near his usual training grounds, back when he had a team anyways, that Shirasei was engaged in conversation with the long-haired Jiraiya. Making his way over, Naruto decided to put his 'jutsu' to the ultimate test and use it against his mentor and friend.

Lying on the ground behind some brush around fifteen feet away, Naruto strained to listen. There had to be some trick to magnifying sound, but the blonde nin had not been taught it yet.

"..so that's what you know about her, huh?" Shirasei rumbled off.

Jiraiya gave a heavy sigh, (probably shook his head) while answering in a disappointed tone "I never saw her. I heard she's a real babe though, it's such a let down!" Naruto could see Jiraiya's face marinated in dispiritedness.

"Mmmm, well I will say she is beautiful. What about Akatsuki? I was mainly hoping to find you were a gold mine of information on them, being the information gathering specialist you are. I'm worried about Naruto, you know. He's not ready for any of them." His statement was met with an agreeing grunt from Jiraiya (Naruto could see him with his fists on his hips, broad chest sticking out).

"What I know of Akatsuki is this," Jiraiya began while issuing a sound of something small, smooth but hard rubbing against cloth. In Naruto's mind he saw Jiraiya removing his bingo book from the opening of his vest. The sanin flipped through the pages, pausing, he began to read off after clearing his throat.

"Akatsuki is an organization of nine S ranked criminal nins. Originally there were ten. Within the last week though, one of them was slain in a duel, so eight at the moment. They seem to only allow one nin from a particular hidden village into their organization at a time, oddly enough. These shinobi manicure their finger and toenails with a light purple, wear a black body cloak that has a few red clouds spread throughout the cloth, and have a thick, signiture scarlet ring. Each ring has a different kanji representing their rank and station within the organization. Apparently the ring is some sort of key to what I would assume is a meeting place - they can't seem to be replicated. I know Orochimaru, the third Sanin, was once part of the organization. When he left, he took his ring as well, which I believe prevented them from replacing him." Jiraiya paused, turning the page.

"Though they brazenly wear the slashed forehead protectors of their former villages, they usually travel wearing kasa**(2)** and in pairs of two. I'm not sure how they keep in contact, because I don't have any information on a meeting place - perhaps it has something to do with the engraved rings each one has."

"I see," Shirasei commented, rubbing his lower face.

"Of the remaining eight members, I only have a little bit of information on six. I'm not aware of their ranks, but I have managed to narrow down what their rings may have on them - it's hard to say given I've only seen two members in the flesh. Most of it is hearsay and speculation. Anyways," Jiraiya rubbed his neck as he read off of his notes. "One of their members is Deidara from Rock Country. I don't know anything about that nin other than they happen to be blonde. Rumors have it Deidra's ring is 'sei' (blue-green). Zetsu is a strange fellow from Grass country. They say something's..very abnormal with his body. From what I've heard, his ring has the 'kai' (boar) symbol and he works alone. Kakazu is a former waterfall nin. He's very tall and his ring reports to be 'hoku' (north). His partner is Hidan, who wears the 'san' (three) ring. He has a strange, triple-bladed scythe. It might have some sort of religous cult meaning. Not sure which village he is from.

"The last pair I've personally met once, and one of my former student's students has also ran into the pair. Hoshigaki Kisame is a strange looking shinobi from hidden mist. He is tall with a large weapon he calls 'Samehade.' Supposedly the weapon has some sort of chakra draining quality and while he can swing it around like a sword, it's meant to shave an opponent if he unwraps it. His ring is 'minami' (south), you can trust me on that one being I've seen it myself." Jiraiya winked at Shirasei, who nodded in return. "His partner is Uchiha Itachi, one of the last two Uchiha. He possesses a type of doujutsu called 'Sharingan,' which enables him to learn jutsu after viewing it. He's also capable of types of doujutsu called Mangekyou**(3)**. One enables him to take people to another dimension where he controls time and space, and while it occurs in his and his victim's mind, their mind believes it real and they can be killed through it. Itachi is a former leaf nin, and gained S rank criminal status when he murdered his entire clan save his younger brother Sasuke and fled the village to presumably join Akatsuki. His ring is the 'shu' symbol (scarlet). Their target jinchuuriki is the Nina Tails sealed inside of Naruto, so I'd assume they're the strongest pair." Jiraiya sighed.

"When it comes to that kid, if it rains, it pours," Shirasei sighed. Jiraiya grunted in agreement.

"You've noticed too, huh?" Naruto imagined a nod in return, since he did not hear his friend's deep voice. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more useful or complete information, Shirasei-" Jiraiya began but Naruto thought he was stopped by his friend raising his ninwrapped hand.

"This is a lot more than nothing, which is what I had."

"Well, there is one more thing," Jiraiya said slowly. "An S rank criminal is an S rank criminal, but I believe their members must be near Hokage-level in strength and capabilities. Orochimaru, my former teammate probably would've been elected the fourth Hokage had he not had an obsession in dark, forbidden arts and theories. Orochimaru managed to kill the third Hokage, who is said to have been our country's strongest shinobi so far." Naruto wondered if Shirasei was worried.

"That's not a good thing to hear. I was afraid if I had to, I might be able to intervene to prevent Tameiya from joining that organization. But that was hoping that Akatsuki members were weaker than her, not on par or on a higher level." Shirasei probably played with his hair nervously, at least that's what Naruto had guessed.

"Your friend must be as powerful as she is hot, from what you're saying." Jiraiya sounded amused. Naruto could see the older man with his arms folded across his broad chest, in his mind's eye.

"I guess that's one way of putting it," Shirasei swayed. Naruto hoped his sensei was not becoming terribly excited infront of his aniki. A silence ensued, and Naruto's mind was blank.

"That's what I came to this country for. I guess now I can return to my mission of trying to return Tameiya to Rain." Shirasei moved to leave.

"Oy, if you manage that, be sure to drop by with her sometime, eh?" Jiraiya was probably grinning at the young man.

"Mm..? Maybe. I think Naruto would like to meet her. Raise him well, Sanin-sama. He's a good kid with a big heart..but a real knuckle head." Naruto imagined his soft smile. The Ame Jounin took off, leaping above Naruto without noticing him. _Stealth jutsu a success!_ Naruto prepared to leave to follow his friend, he had to repay him for that last comment but...

"Naruto! Are you going to lay there all day or come train with me? I thought you would've burst in within the first five minutes rambling off all your stupid questions." Jiraiya's degrading, disbelieving, masculine voice grated over the blonde nin.

"Er..eh heh heh how'd you know?" Naruto came out of the brush, rubbing the back of his head.

"You wear an _orange_ jumpsuit, **_ba - ka_**." Jiraiya emphasized the insult. "Shirasei didn't notice because he had his back to you, but I saw you approaching from far off in the distance." Naruto's facial features drooped. "It doesn't matter, I was going to tell you that stuff someday anyways Naruto." The two then began their training. Once again, Naruto was unable to give his friend a 'goodbye.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Yep, it's all true. And thanks to Naruto peeping I was able to tell you.**

**(2) These are traditional bamboo hats that look like an almost flat, wide cone. **

**(3) 'Kaleidoscope'**


	13. Chp 13: Filling In All The Blanks

When you're not looking, Orochimaru is looking through your monitor while flailing his tongue.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata finally managed to slink away from her team, Kiba loudly enjoying his lunch across from beautiful Kurenai and silent Shino. It was a different resturaunt than their usual being they were far away from Konoha. She swallowed amoungst the trees and reached inside of her light toned jacket, pulling out a small hand-sized book. Her cheeks were rosey. The cover read, Icha Icha Paradise in bold writing. She bit her quivering lip. The images were covered by a few red, manicured finger nails and were lifted as the book slid up and out of her gentle grasp, Hinata giving a soft, startled gasp.

"What's this? Ohhh, I haven't read one of these in forever!" The voice was older than her's, and almost husky. Jazlyn grinned at Hinata who went red from head to foot, paralyzed. "Icha-Icha Paradise, these things are so funny and addictive." Jazlyn flipped through the manga rapidly. "And..sexy." She shot a glance at the mortified young girl, one bright yellow eye with a shine. "What's a nice, young girl like you doing with something like this?" She raised an eyebrow at Hinata, who only managed uneven whimpers, trying to think of what to do, what to say.

"Young miss," came a stern man's voice. The two girls turned to see something that shocked the flush out of Hinata. She raised her small hand to her lips, backing away a little. "I do say it's one thing to be fashionably late, but this is boardering on rude forgetfullness." The 'R' in 'rude' was rolled forcefully.

A very large, lanky, light-blue skinned figure was slowly sauntering over to the two girls. He was very slouched over, to a point that would be humanly painful if the posture was kept up for more than a minute. His fingers were thick and gnarled, and he only had two on each hand with thumbs matching in proportion. He wore no gloves, but on the back of his right hand was a 'forehead' protector with four lines on it, slightly waved in the middle, the 'headband' portion tied across his palm. He only had two toes which was evident from his lack of any footwear, but had highly polished, black, thin-plated shin and knee pads along with a light plate half-covering that went over the front of his thighs separately and matching light plated bracers on each excessively long forearm. The extremely awkward looking figure wore what looked like a skin-tight fishnet outfit underneath baggier, stiff black clothing that ran down the majority of his body, which had splits in it such as at the elbows, shoulders, sternum (amost all the way down the center), and hips. The parting of the solid black material made it stick out, as if they were open pockets. The creature's face was oddly humanlike, but with larger features minus a sharp chin. His nose was especially large, which must've been around four inches long and taking up a good portion of the face. He had two, thin, three-inch tusks at each corner of his lips which curved in a lazy half-circle inwards, points nearly facing each other a handful of inches apart. His hair was white and wirey like his blue frame - slender to the point of almost being in the skinny range. His hair was stiff and all stuck out almost at the same angle up and behind him, as if something had exploded on his chin. Oddly enough, he wore a dull, grey-framed monocle over his left eye, the uncovered one being somewhat beady and black, maybe like a bird's. At each side of his head was an overly large, and excessively vertical, pointed ear. Though stooped far over so that his overly long arms and hands reached to near his mid-calf, the creature still towered a bit over six feet tall. If he was standing straight up, he may have been well over eight feet tall, maybe even nine feet in height. Across his slim but large back was hung an ornate, engraved composite bow, which looked like it was wrought from bone and contained a double pulley system utilizing the quiver (one joint near either end of the bow's body). Across his hips was a loose leather belt, and from it on the right hip hung a small (in proportion to the large figure) quiver bristling at the top with arrow butts.

Hinata forgot her embarassment at being caught avidly reading the dirty manga and hid herself behind Jazlyn's turned shoulder, much like how she would hide behind posts and trees when near Naruto. "Huh?" Jazlyn's tough voice and attention was drawn from the strange being to Hinata when the young girl's soft contact caught her attention. "Hinata, this is my teammate. There's no need to be afraid, he won't bite." She chuckled with her large, bright eyes closed a good deal off her own comment, as if imagining the scary scene was something rather comical.

"Yes, quite so." The large, inhuman looking man stopped a few lazy strides away from the two. Gazing down at Hinata's indigo covered head, he reached up, pinched his monocle between his thick, stubby forefinger and thumb adjusting it, turning it back and forth a bit. "That'd be a great deal uncivilized and unsanitary, I must say." He cleared his throat, the back of his hand that had been adjusting his monocle now at the tips of his tusks. "I am Blunky Von Futch**(1)**, and am also positively delighted to make your acquaintance, young miss." With eyes closed (or at least the one that could be seen), the large, clumsy looking figure tucked his left fist behind his stomach and held his right one out with its hand open, waiting for something to be placed in it while he made a low bow, which unfortunately still kept him taller than either woman. After holding the position for a few moments, he opened his eye and lifted his head a little from his bow, but still maintained the position. "Miss? When making an acquaintance, it is proper to put your hand in an up-turned palm." He waited with his hand there, watching her with his beady eye.

Blinking, confused, Hinata did so. The large man lifted the back of her hand to his dark blue lips and kissed them, making Hinata return to redness. "A pleasure, young lady." Blunky straightened himself up. Well, he lifted himself up from his bow anyways. He rounded on Jazlyn. "Young miss, we shouldn't keep delaying the reporting of a successful mission to our feudal lord. It is rather inconciderate, you know." The strange concoction of a man adjusted his monocle again, very careful to roll his 'R' on the 'reporting' and 'rather'. "It should be a young adult's imperative to bolster their country's reputation as eagerly and expeditely as possible." There he went again, rolling the 'R' on 'reputation.'

"Tcht. Sorry for taking a few minutes, jeez Blinky. Ya don't hafta talk me ta death." Jazlyn tossed her long, wildly curled hair irritated. "I just saw an _acquaintance's_ all." She ruffled Hinata's indigo hair and slapped the manga into Hinata's palm. It seemed to wake her up a bit. "You Trolls, I swear."

"T..Trolls?" Hinata whimpered softly.

The sky blue Troll lifted an eyebrow - the uncovered eye's. "Well, since we're here already, might as well not run off so quick." Blunky rounded on Hinata now. The movement looked clumsy but he didn't cause any accidents or manage to scrape his hands along the ground as she had imagined the gangly form to. "My Troll clan is from the mountainous region (rrrrrregion) in what you people call 'Rain' (rrrrrrrain) country. While typically they don't aspire for much interaction with Humans, I became shinobi." Hinata listened, intrigued though still frightened a bit. Blunky cleared his throat again in the same fashion he had earlier, making Jazlyn chuckle. He shot a mild glare at her for a moment. "I'm afraid to say but I wasn't fond of the lifestyle. It was all rather (rrrrather) uncivilized and unintelligent. I'm honestly ashamed to admit it, but the want to recklessly (rrrrrecklessly) abandon myself upon travelers for the so called 'thrill' of pillaging just wasn't my calling in life. It was terribly unsophisticated." Blunky smiled through his tusks. "And so, here I am."

"Ano sa..nice to..meet you," Hinata managed to get out timidly.

"Yes, quite. I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not, young miss, but you never introduced yourself. If you would..?" He absent mindedly straightened himself, towering almost twice the height of poor little Hinata and rotated his shoulders, wincing a bit. After he was done with his shoulders, the Troll slouched over again immediately, dropping him from well over eight feet to just a bit above six.

"Ano..I'm..Hyuuga Hinata.." The sheer size of Blunky still intimidated the breath out of her despite any hint of bulkiness to his frame, and she tried to hide herself more behind Jazlyn.

"Mmmm...Blinky." Jazlyn turned her gaze from Hinata to her Troll companion.

"Yes, dear?" Blunky's beady eye shifted to his untamed looking companion.

"Do you mind going ahead? We both don't need to go to report a successful mission, and if we get another one, well, you can always come find me." She tapped her nose a few times, giving a knowing grin. "I'd like a bit of time to talk to the young 'miss' here, okay?" Blunky knitted his eyebrows softly, giving a half-hearted smile as if this wasn't the first time.

"A gentleman must accept a lady's request," he said with a bow. "If I may, ladies." He lifted himself (sort of) from his bow and turned, then bounded off in a surprisingly quick and graceful series of long, froglike leaps, disappearing into the woods. Hinata blinked, still wondering if that had all really happened.

"A real shocker, huh? Don't be fooled by his good manners though. That man once killed fifty enemies by himself without any cover. Clear out in the open - sometimes they call him 'The Murder Machine' because of it," Jazlyn grinned, bearing her excessively sharp canines at Hinata. She recalled even Kiba's weren't that long. "But the real reason why I wanted to talk to you is I heard you caused a bit of a scene when you showed up in my hometown." Jazlyn reached over and with a red-nailed finger, drug the tip of it down and over Hinata's nose, who started, flushed. "Is that true?"

"Ano..yes." Hinata began to push her fingers together, rosy at the cheeks. She thought she knew where this was going.

"So you defeated a man named Shirasei Fang in a duel?" Jazlyn's bright, yellow eyes glowed at Hinata, who only managed to flush more and slightly nod once. After a pause, Jazlyn grinned at her and snaked an arm across the back of the younger girl's shoulders. "What'd ya think of my boyfriend?" Hinata was wide-eyed shocked, but Jazlyn kept grinning and nodded while wiggling her pinky. "Yup, we're this!"

"He's..very strong." Her comment was met with a 'pshaw' almost instantly. She blinked at Jazlyn.

"I heard he didn't manage to hit ya once."

"Well..I..I just.." Hinata poked her fingers a little more enthusiastically. Jazlyn sighed and ruffled Hinata's short, indigo hair.

"Eh either way. I just wish I hadn't listened to Tsunade and delivered those reports myself. But.." She eyed Hinata slyly, "was it _worth_ it with the blondie watching?" she needled. Hinata ducked into her shoulders, remembering how Naruto had reacted to her victory, and whimpered a bit softly, not making any intelligible noises. This only brightened Jazlyn who laughed merrily, "That means 'yes,' I take it. Then I guess I have no real regrets. Sorta.." Jazlyn half-heartedly smiled to herself, each girl lost to their own thoughts. They were interrupted though.

"Oy, Hinata! Who's that babe?" Her team was approaching, Kiba with little, white Akamaru laying on his head was most prominent. Kurenai and Shino were behind him a few paces.

"Eh, I'm not really a people person. Remember what I told you last time now, you lil pervert," Jazlyn said softly so only Hinata could hear, poking her shoulder with her fingertip. Startled, Hinata remembered the book in her hand and quickly shoved it in her jacket pocket. The older woman laughed and bounded off quickly after her teammate.

Kurenai put her hands on her hips, gazing down at Kiba from her wavey lockes and eyeshadow. "I guess you have that affect on a lot of women, eh Kiba?" she needled. The brash youth bit his lip and trembled a little. Hinata would normally give a soft laugh, but had returned to her thoughts. "But then again, there is a certain-"

"Don't!" Kiba spat testily, and grumbled to himself.

The antics of her teammates were lost to the quiet, young girl as she thought to herself. _"Take my advice,"_ Jazlyn's rough voice echoed in her mind. _"pounce on him before it's too late - and make him your's."_ Taking a deep breath, Hinata hoped she'd have the strength the next time she saw Naruto. She wanted to more than anything.

Tameiya could not reach the blank white that was so familiar to her, soothing and timeless. Grimacing, her slender, long eyebrow twitching slightly as she sat on the grassy, sunny cliff she had been on all day, her troubled attempts at meditation rang clear as if they had happened an hour ago. _Their rocky, long haired instructor, wearing his dark grey, long tailed rain coat minus the sleeves stood infront of her. A small Shirasei stood near him. Hanshoumaru had his coat unbuttoned, but the image of the world faded away as she tied a blindfold over her eyes. With a 'hmph,' she knew the excersize had begun. Following her instinct, she cut out, her strikes clean. After an intense few moments of incessant motion, she exhaled a deep sigh, and removed the blindfold._

_"Baku-sensei I did it again!" She had managed to cut all ten hand-size balls down the middle. With a soft smile he nodded, and she went to his side. _

_Shirasei in turn replaced her position, covering his eyes. With a 'hmph' from their instructor, He readied himself with a set of gloves that had a claw running from the top knuckle of each finger, a handful of inches long each. Hanshoumaru unceremoniously tossed all the balls into the air so they would be near Shirasei, slow and underhanded at once. For a few intense moments, he rapidly slashed the air until he heard the soft patter of small objects hitting the ground. He uncovered his eyes._

_"Oh ho ho ho," Hansoumaru crinkled out a smile, chuckling gravely. 'Three more. Very good.' Tameiya felt miffed and ignored. She couldn't really hear whatever Shirasei was saying excitedly to her. _She twitched more intensely on the cliff, feeling the pangs of hatred and jealousy. The images continued, cluttering her mind more rather than clearing away.

_They ambled through the obstacle course. Tameiya was a good twenty steps ahead by the homestretch, both panting, straining their young bodies. She crossed the finish line that had been painted across the ground and watched her friend catch up, then collapse. She smiled arrogantly. At least -he- knows who's better. He understood how much more she was than him. No one to give him a fat head even though he lost. To her surprise, she heard the slow, steady sound of something dragging across the wet pavement. An elderly man in silk robes with a walking cane and a long, white, thin beard smiled down at them. Their feudal lord did not look any younger than he currently did. "Very good, Tameiya. A new course record. Shirasei," he turned from the girl to the boy. "I see you've improved a good twenty seconds. That's great, keep up the good work, ho ho ho.." he slowly walked away after giving the almost fake sounding laugh, that knowing smile that all the adults seemed to give after complimenting her friend right infront of her, more than they had her. Tameiya felt a pang in her chest, a dull something at the back of her neck. She couldn't hear what Shirasei was animatedly talking about._

They got older, Shirasei became more quiet and withdrawn, Tameiya near silent. The more she accomplished, the less praise she received, always next to the under achiever. Always ahead of him. He had began to ignore the praise but it didn't matter. It was there. She was better. Why? **Why**? Tameiya on the cliff tightened her small fists on her thighs, jaw clenching. Everytime he tried to talk to her alone, she couldn't do anything other than ask herself those same questions, hardly hearing her friend.

_The two young adults faced each other, twenty feet apart. Tameiya was dressed the way she was in the present but with her gi top completely on, Shirasei had a navy blue hooded sweat shirt, open with the hood up, a white corduroy muscle shirt underneath and faded blue jeans. On either hand was a series of black, metal plates, fit for each surface area of the hands and tops of the fingers. She knew at the ends of the finger plates hid two long, six-inch retractable blades as well as the thumb plates. She reached over and placed her right hand on the top of her sheath, pushing the hilt up with a 'click' using her thumb. _

_"What're you waiting for," she asked, watching the unmoving boy. He gave her a sad look._

_"I couldn't bare it if I accidently killed my best friend again...I won't release them." Feeling the irritation of expected approval from his actions, she shot her smoldering blue eyes through the crowds. She saw nods and other looks of consent at the actions. Her blood boiled. She could hear the sound of her teeth grinding as she snapped her sword back in place, removing the entire thing, sheathed. "Fine, I'll play your stupid little games and beat you as always," she thought to herself as she jerkily wrapped the thin belt connected to her sheath around her small hand, locking the wood to the hilt. "It'll be infront of everyone, then they'll see clear as day who's better," she thought. She slid her legs into place, knees bent, both hands gripping what felt like a large, smooth, straight stick._

_Nothing he did worked. She easily bested whatever approach he took to her, whatever jutsu he sprang out with, sending him sprawling on the solid, water coated ground over and over. And in the end, as he did a desparate lunge at her, striking at her face, she knew that was it. Narrowing her already half-closed, shocking blue eyes, she ducked underneath his extended fist, drawing the tip of her wooden weapon across his chest, her shoulder and upper arm bent out to the side with her forearm between them, the katana above her head and below his arm. Her closest arm to him was bent between them, under the wooden blade, supporting it on the insides of her first knuckles, mid-way up the sheath with her up-turned palm. Despite it just being the sheath, he bled a bright red line, shirt tearing apart across his slim frame. Reeling back in pain, he stumbled a bit, arms apart from the force of the blow. She dashed in as he was still on one foot, and just like before, struck the tip of her sword across his skin in a rapid stroke, over and over, never stopping. Shirasei's upper clothing was slowly disolving into ragged tatters. It wasn't enough though! It had only been a handful of seconds! It couldn't compare to the years of blatant favoritism she had had to put up with. She began solidly striking him with the end of the sword, feeling him crumple beneath it. Eyes closed tightly shut, he coughed up thick, red blood between her strokes. The more red that showed, the more it became clear to everyone else. His knees buckled suddenly. He began to sink. She paused, almost hesitating to confidently state, "Shinku Hinode**(2)**."_

_"Now," her enchantingly blue eyes narrowed more, under the uneven green bangs._

_The world revolved below her awkwardly as she flew over the falling body in a single twisting flip to position herself facing the opposite way behind him that she had been when she jumped infront of him. She was facing the same direction as him, a couple of feet from the ground, a few moments from its reliable surface. In one motion, never bending her arms more than a slight angle, she streaked the wood straight down his spine. She moved it to 4:30 on her imaginary clock. She drug it across his back, over the shoulder blade. She moved it down to 9:00. Forced it straight across his back. Raised it to 1:30, and with finality, just before the last few seconds of her victim dropping, slashed through to his lower back, down to 7:30. Her wooden geta came to rest on the cement floor before her, small feet gracefully coming to lie plush against them, toes and balls first, then flatly. Her friend unceremoniously piled onto the ground, sliding over the wet surface until he was flatly spread over it. She slide across the wet surface, furrowing the slight sheet of liquid covering, heavens weeping for her opponent. "Chi Ni Iriai..**(3)**"_

_With a haughty toss of her wet, green head, she walked to the front of the pathetically sprawled out Shirasei, who was crumpled, defeated, eyes half closed and glazed. Each step issued a hollow 'clomp.' Red swirled out from under him, he couldn't move or speak. She wasn't even sure if he saw her standing in her wet, blood red gi, leering down at him with a small smile across her darkly rosed lips._

_"Winner of the Chuunin Exams - Tameiya Ashura."_ _She was cheered, he wasn't. Silently she raised her sheathed sword, the line of wood to the crowds and received higher volume. Red tears unsteadily leaked off the tip of her weapon. Yet it didn't feel like victory. Being cheered didn't fill the infuriating, missing pieces inside of her. Perhaps it was a gradual sort of thing.._ The older Tameiya on the cliff winced more, teeth grinding behind her small, fine, dark red lips to a still position.

_"You are clearly a Chuunin, Tameiya." The elderly daimyo inclined his head, and she, her's. Along the thronelike chair in the office, lined on either side of the old man were the various jounin and chuunin who over viewed and ran the exams. They all had clearly saw. They knew. But still, nothing seemed to change inside of her. _

_Outside the daimyo's expansive, expensive and impressive office, she began to make her way to the lower office building, near the shinobi barracks. She heard the heavy sliding of one of the wood framed, paper doors behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder a bit at who approached. It brought a small smile of satisfaction to see him wrapped all over, knowing beneath the skin was a wreck because of her. He was grinning softly which agitated her. She had bested him, he knew who was better. Everyone couldn't deny it anymore._

_"You made Chuunin, right Tameiya?" She gave a small incline of her head momentarily._

_Without bothering to hide the disapproval from her voice, she commented over her shoulder, "I take it you didn't make it to Chuunin yourself?"_

_The boy reached and rubbed the back of his head, wincing with a pause in the process. He laughed a little as the rain splattered on them carelessly, endlessly. "Ah, no. But I think I still managed to make you proud.."_

_She raised a long, thin eyebrow, gazing at him with her maddening, hazy blue eye. "Oh?" She inquired curtly in her singer's voice. Her effervescence was coming to a halt due to her best friend's odd behavior despite her victory, his loss. She was forebodingly suspicious of his untimely demeanor, but couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her so much about it._

_"I made Jounin instead, eh heh heh.." She felt herself without breath. J..**Jounin**! Him? Why, **why**? He's always been worse than me, I've always been the best of our peers! Tameiya's breathing deepend from anger, both in her memory and outside of it. Her smaller, younger fist placed her shaking hand on the top of her wooden sheath. It squeezed it in a slight wringing twist, like how she wanted to squeeze his thick neck. "So, uh..heh..." Shirasei had cast his gaze to some obscure corner right after confessing his success. There was a long pause. He gave a long sigh to ease his nerves. "...Tameiya, everything I've done was because I love you. I have ever since we first me so long ago. I always had that drive, trying to do everything I could, keep improving so much..to impress you.." The young man took a deep breath and raised his eyes to her's, smoldering with the heat of her emotions. "..I..-huh..?" He must've seen her rigid form, her shaking. _

_She growled at him savagely. "I hate you.." and without another moment, turned from him and strode away. She had to get away. If she stood there, she'd strike down the pitiful, broken form infront of her for good in one clean sweep. Her essence was overflowing so strongly with the radiance of hatred, jealousy and outright disbelief that the constant contact of water droplets went unfelt by her._

Tameiya opened her twitching eyes, revealing their vivid blue. _When are you going to come for me, Shirasei Fang?_

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Original Character**

**(2) 'Crimson Sunrise'**

**(3) 'Blood Red Sunset'**


	14. Chp 14: Facevault

After a large writer's block, I came up with this so far. It is supposed to be about these two after all..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto grinned up at the skies, marching happily along the road. "Ahh, I can't believe Obaachan finally thought I was ready for a B ranked mission, and all by myself!" The blonde nin flexed his arm and felt it appreciatively with his free hand, winking to himself. "Finally Ero-senin's training is paying off! I can't wait to get back, I hope there's another B mission lined up for me, dattebayo!" Smiling happily, Naruto entered the small settlement. "Eh..?" He squinted his eyes, pronouncing his whiskers a bit. Then grinned and called across the long road to a handful of figures. "Oy, Hinata-chan! Kiba, Shino! Kurenai-sensei!" He began to wave and continued to do so until they had all turned around. He stopped shortly afterwards and ran over. "What're you four doing here?"

Kiba, the loudest and most similiar peer to Naruto in personality stepped forehead. "Meh. We just finished escorting a trade caravan from another trading outpost a ways off. Ugh, it was a little tough," Kiba rotated his shoulder, then grinned with one eye closed at Naruto. "Yourself?"

"Ah, I was a bit further out," he gestured behind himself. "I had to protect a 'VIP' while he was in another country for a week. Just got off earlier this morning!" The idea of a Shino look-a-like but with blonde hair and whiskers popped into Kiba's mind, causing him to laugh boisterously.

"Aren't you a little loud to be a body guard?" He put his hands on his hips.

"Who's loud? I got the job done just fine!" Naruto's temper was rising.

"Boys, boys." Kurenai chided calmly. Kiba tossed his head, looking away from Naruto and at his team.

"Che.." _That damn Naruto thinks he's so smooth._ Hinata's timid figure trying to hide itself behind Kurenai came into his view. Kiba got an evil glint in his eye. _Oh yeah, how convenient.._ "Oy Shino, remember that -thing- I needed to talk to you about, you know, just between us **guys**?" Shino silently turned to Kiba with his eyebrows raised. Then he returned his look to Naruto, lowering his eyebrows to their characteristic, stern expression level. Kiba nudged him in the ribs and muttered a three syllable word jerkily, that sounded like 'he-at-a.' from where Naruto stood. The two turned to go, though Shino didn't make any gestures to show he understood anything that was going on. It's hard to tell since the guy hardly ever spoke or used body language. "We'll leave you ladies alone and start our way back to discuss our..thing..y.. Don't be too slow now." Kiba took off with Akamaru bounding alongside him.

Shino stood towards the edge of town, then said from his popped and buttoned up collar, which always left the impression on the blonde nin as being a sort of half mask. "Kurenai sensei, I'm not very..comfortable..with these..'thingy' talks...please come along and make sure Kiba doesn't get too..enthusiastic," he requested monotonously in his deep, soft voice while adjusting his opaque, black shades with a push of his fingers. They looked much like beady insect eyes. He turned and followed Kiba's example.

Kurenai gave a wry, knowing smile as she watched the two leave. She turned towards Hinata and smiled, close eyed. "Hinata, don't be in a rush. We'll wait for you in Konoha if we're assigned another mission." Then followed her underlings.

"Ne..?" Naruto blinked after them. He checked the bottom of his shoes for to make sure he didn't step in anything. Finding nothing, he began sniffing himself to see if he smelled. Hinata flushed, watching her teammates distance themselves for her privacy. She turned to find the blonde nin trying to see if anything stinky was stuck to his back, but when he noticed her looking, he faced her grinning. "So uh...Hinata-chan, how've you been? Eh heh heh.." he rubbed the back of his head. _Maybe orange is too gaudy for them to be seen around..not like Shino or Kiba have the greatest fashion senses in the world.._

"Naruto-kun..I've been good." She smiled, her trademark flush spreading. "I've been improving since we last saw each other." _That was not as long ago as she thinks.._

"Is that so? You've really gotta show me sometime." Naruto fidgetted a little uncomfortably.

"Mh.." she nodded, smiling happily. Then she remembered. "Can I show you somewhere I came across with my team, Naruto-kun? I thought it was very beautiful, it's not that far away.." she began to trail off. It was innocent enough, why was she getting shy? She poked her fingers infront of the young blonde. _Because..I have to try to tell him..please say 'yes,' Naruto-kun.._

"Umm..okay. I guess going home can wait a bit." Naruto followed Hinata a different way than the other Konoha nins had gone. They crossed the area that she had been caught trying to sneak some peaks at Icha Icha Paradise by Jazlyn, and followed the same path that she and Blunky had left by. They walked unhurriedly, following a dirt trail through a light forrest. They had all met up at a town near the very boarder of Rain, River and Wind country, and the path was taking them closer to the apex of all three. The landscape changed greatly. Their forrested terrain slowly became more and more sparse, but always with enough trees to fill their view in any direction. They broke from the path when they had to cross a small, wooden arch of a bridge that was only a handful of strides long. Following the small, mellow, gradually widening stream, the two young nins came to a grassy cliff.

To Hinata and Naruto's surprise, there sat a small figure, maybe an inch or two shorter than them, folded up in a cross legged position. The top of its head was green with a short, high-angled pony tail. At its small, right hip hung a one-handed straight edged sword, and across its back, a longer straight edge. Both were sheathed in humble, lacored wood. Tameiya faced away from them, over the cliff with her small hands on her blood red thighs. Hearing the disturbance behind her that their feet caused in the grass before the two children paused, she quickly placed her right hand on her sheath at her hips, left reaching across her lap to the handle as she looked over her less-clothed shoulder. Her intense, half closed eye was livid with energy. She relaxed, removing her small hand adorned by white wrappings across the width of her palm from the wooden tube at her hip. _Young lovers, how adorable..._ All the painful needles and knives in her heart almost eased away completely for a blissful second, any intention of fighting gone. The weight that always seemed to hang from her shoulders was almost lifted and gone from her soul.

The two children looked at her hesitantly, not wanting to intrude impolitely. Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry miss samurai lady! We were just coming for a look but we won't bother you." Naruto turned.

"No." It was a whisper, but it was loud and clear, as if she had spoken next to the boy, making him stop and turn back around. The small woman helped herself up, turning around, and smiled a very soft but detectable smile. She inclined her head slightly and whispered out to the pair, "I was just leaving." She took a minute or so to actually walk past them at her gentle pace. She stopped a few strides away, and said halfway over her less clothed shoulder, "..and I'm kunoichi**(1)**, by the way." The two blinked at her back as she unhurriedly followed the path they had just followed.

"Huh? I guess you're not the only one who appreciates the this place." Naruto looked at his companion, who blushed a bit. Smiling, she walked to where the pretty warrior had been seated, looking for maybe whatever she had been gazing at as her thoughts filled her mind. The blonde nin joined his indigo topped friend, looking over the high cliff.

Infront of them, expansive view was thick, green contrasting to the sky blue above. The green spanned far off ahead of them, until it was obstructed by the immoveable earthy colors of a mountain range. Behind it, just for a few inches before the horizon, the two could see the mellow tans of sand dunes. To their right below the cliff, the green became more dark and dense gradually until it became close to the same tone as the prominant mountains, but not the same color. Above the dense, dark landscape towards the right half clung moody, dark grey clouds above. Towards the left from the two however, the trees thinned until their greens threaded through soft blue waters. The light wind ruffled their hair and loose clothing as they took in the view.

"This is the border of Wind, Rain and River country, Naruto-kun.." Hinata stalled, explaining the scenary beneath them. He smiled softly at her.

"I'm really glad you showed me this, Hinata. It's truly moving." He turned his gaze back over the drop. Hinata shook slightly, her a dull ache spreading across the front of her neck. She bit her lip. _Take his hand. Look him in the eye. Tell Naruto-kun how you feel.._ She told herself as she tried to move her shaking arm. It barely budged, and she looked down, trying to will it to do what she wanted. It was as if her arms had transformed mysteriously into fifty pound weights. Her blue-eyed love just continued to gaze serenely at the view. Hinata dropped her arm to her side, uselessly, her heart aching. _I can still do it, I don't have to touch him..hold his hand.._

"Na..Naruto..kun.." she managed to force out in a soft shiver. She swallowed, seeing him turn to face her.

"Hm..? What is it, Hinata-chan?" He blinked at her, giving her his full attention. She whimpered softly, trying to say anything, her cheeks stained with pink. "Are you cold and want to go back?" She managed a soft, uneven shake of the head with her eyes down despite her irregular shudders.

"I...I..." she poked her fingers, and shifted her gaze around the ground.

"Uh?"

"...I...really.." The air she was breathing was becoming thinner, her words harder to say. Could he hear her?

"Really..?"

"...really...like..." Her chest was clutching up, she wanted to make herself small and unnoticed. Why couldn't he just see it like everyone else?

"Like...?"

"...like..." She swallowed, trying to moisten her throat so the words would come out a little better.

"...like?"

"...Like..." She bit her quivering lip. _What if he says he doesn't feel the same? What if he still likes Sakura-chan? What if he laughs trying to be nice before turning me away...doesn't know what to say.._ "...like..." it was close to a whisper. Her chest was clenched in a chilling, iron grip. Naruto blinked at her. She saw the peaceful stream running to the harsh edge of the stiff ground, before spraying into a little, misty waterfall. "...like water..." Hinata hung her head. _So I haven't improved enough, and worse, that sounded so stupid._.

"...water? Huh..?" Naruto gave her a blank look of why that had been so hard to say. "Um...water's nice I guess, believe it."

_Wait, **water**. Maybe..if I can't say..it's better than nothing, I can do this._ Numbly, Hinata walked to the shallow stream and placed her foot on the surface. Her heart was pounding, she couldn't hear the rustle of the wind or waterfall, or her own foot steps to the stream. She didn't sink, but caused a soft ripple to be cast and dragged towards the inevitable drop. She continued to cause the disturbances, until she was in the middle of the stream.

"Eh?" Naruto could only blink and watch, confused by Hinata's weird (even for her) behavior. Closing her eyes, Hinata began to gracefully turn herself, gliding along the mirror like substance. She twirled, slid the tip of her toes across the smooth surface sometimes, and sometimes her small finger tips. When should would turn like an elegant skater, sometimes the jewel like orbs, always changing, would flicker and glide through the air just as delicately as herself. Naruto stared, entranced, lips parted. He hardly blinked, afraid that what he saw might disappear. _Just like that one time..._ Hinata continued her enchanting movements, tossing her head and hands, feet and legs. She would become slow and then gradually fast, slow again, never stopping, all the while the crystal water sparkling, floating through the air as she pleased. In a final spin that began low to the surface and slow, eventually ending suddenly with her standing with her back arced delicately, one foot daintily infront of her on its ball, the other behind, head facing up a bit. The reflective surface of the water sheened as it arced in a thin curve, surrounding her in a perfect sphere. With the brief glitter of a moment, shining, it broke apart into a million sparkling shards that cast themselves in individual, small, lazy arcs away from her.

Fixing herself from her pose to standing normally, Hinata raised the back of her small hand to her lips, No thoughts would come to her. Deafening silence weighed down on her oppressively. She was numb but shaking. She watched the center of her affection as the paralyzingly strong clutch of fear hung in her chest. She heard her heart in her ear.

"The Bikochu..?" She didn't want to answer, she wanted to faint. Why couldn't she faint? She wasn't even breathing. She realized she had nodded. Naruto's mouth and eyes widened a bit more. "The waterfall..?" She realized she was begining shallow breath, the relief faintly reaching inside of her, and that she had almost impercetably nodded again. Her chest was less tense, but her face was growing more flushed with heat. "You were the beautiful..?" Naruto trailed off. All the breath inside the young girl left her as the world swirled away.

Naruto layed down the damp kunoichi on the dry, plush, short grass. He drug his fingers down his face, stretching his features. _Why does she always have to do that? We were talking about something really important._ The blonde nin sighed, Hinata still red as a tomato in her sleep. He knew it wasn't going to look good, but he had to take off Hinata's soaked, trademark jacket. The brief view he had of his young companion wasn't exactly as rewarding or new as it should've been. He already knew the gentle contours of her body a bit familiarly now and that her black body outfit with a v-net fishnet opening was what was hidden underneath the normal baggy cover.

Naruto removed his own flamboyantly orange jacket. Wrapping it over Hinata's top to help her keep warm made him laugh. It didn't look so bad on her. It was a little chilly with just his shirt on but he managed to smile. His smile faded almost as quickly as it had come. He was confused. He wanted to just take off, but that was wrong, he knew that. Checking into an inn with an unconscious girl over your shoulder was just asking for trouble, and while he'd like to continue training with Jiraiya to help sort his thoughts and feelings, carrying her all the way to Konoha was almost as bad as the inn situation. There was always the chance he could pretend it didn't happen, but that felt like it'd leave a regret always looming over his shoulder.

Taking out a writing pad and pen, Naruto grumpily sat himself a few feet away from Hinata, gazing over the cliff for a few minutes. _Aniki never said what to write about.._the vein in his temple pulsed. He gazed over the cliff and took in the wonderful scenery again. _I guess that's not so bad, it's better than nothing. Baka, telling me how to do something but not what to do.._ the boy began to write, pausing sometimes to return his gaze over the cliff, sometimes to check lingeringly on his sleeping friend. After a long while, he placed the pencil down on the pad with a pat, and slapped his palm on his thigh.

"Why can't I ever get real training. Aniki only taught me to do _this_ junk and Ero-senin only teaches in ways he hopes will make me a pervert.." Naruto asked himself grumpily. "How is this all gonna help me when Ak-" Naruto heard the grass behind him brush uncharacteristically to the gentle breezes that had been visiting him. Turning quickly, trying to prepare himself he began to look over his shoulder. All he saw what appeared to be a flesh colored rock a moment before it crashed into his temple and cheek bone. White, pink, purple and dancing lines played across his field of vision as he jerked from the force, swaying a dangerous wobble, then he felt himself slink over to the grass. He saw Hinata's shrinking face in the center of his vision, disappearing into the dull but overwhelming sensation of pain.

Over Naruto's crumpled, slumped-foreward body, a bulky person stepped over and reached down, picking up the writing pad. They examined the page full of writing the young nin had produced, slowly, curiously. When it finished, it checked by flipping the page to see if anymore work had been conducted, but the page was blank. Tucking it at the inside of an unbuttoned coat, the person hoisted up the small boy, holding him under one arm. Then moved to his companion, carrying her under the free arm.

The next thing he knew, Naruto found himself infront of an errupting mount Tsunade. In her frenzied tirade, the youthful, well endowed looking woman was fond of slapping her desk top, causing the object to creak ominously under the strain of her strength. _How do I always find myself into these kinds of situations? _Naruto sighed, his head still throbbing with blankets of soft ache. _I just went off with Hinata for like an hour and this happens..and she has to faint while we're in the middle of a really super important matter too.._

"Don't you sigh at me, you irresponsible little boy! No more running off and being alone like that anymore, do you understand?" Tsunade huffed.

"If you don't want me to be alone, why did you send me on a mission by myself?" Naruto asked in a flat tone. Tsunade face-vaulted, smashing her head on the desk which groaned again from the strain.

"I thought you'd have the sense to come directly back right afterwards! Missions need to get done one way or another. I want you to always be with someone," she said sternly, rubbing her forehead.

"So you want me to hang around Ero-senin in all my free time?" he asked unenthusiastically. Tsunade dropped her head against the desk again.

"Don't you spend any more time with that insatiable pervert than his training sessions, Naruto! I've already gotten far too much confirmation that you're turning out to be just like a small version of him!" She eyed her one thick stack of reports at the corner of her desk, growing exclusively thanks to Naruto.

"Then you want me to practice what he teaches me on my own?" Naruto continued the monotonous tone, eyes closed with his arms folded behind his head. Tsunade's face struck the desk again.

"Baka! You only practice what he teaches you when he teaches you!" Naruto made an uninterested face.

"What am I supposed to do in all my free time then?" he continued to face the ceiling.

"Naruto.." Tsunade shook, her fist clenched infront of her. "Just don't go off on your own like that anymore when you're outside of the village. Hanshoumaru said that there was Akatsuki in the area, and it's amazing he found you before they became aware of your presence right out in the open!" Naruto shrugged. Tsunade screamed again. "Don't you care about anyone other than yourself? The power inside of you can be used to kill countless people!"

"How would Baku know?" Naruto glared at Tsunade.

"Because," the woman twitched. "his expertise is tracking and surveillance. It's what he does, Naruto."

"Che.." Naruto tossed his head, much like Jiraiya. Apparently being an expert at something just didn't cut it with him.

"OUT!" Tsunade thundered. She stood behind her desk, hunched over and huffing as the blonde exitted. Once her door closed, twitching, she grabbed her wheeled chair and chucked it through the window directly behind the desk with a furious roar. "GRAAAAHHHHH!" _Who the hell does that kid think he is? He always has to do what you least expect him to at the worst times! Then the attitude! How did I ever get talked into this job? Jiraiya.. _Tsunade swore vengeance on the Toad Charmer for not taking the job himself and pushing it onto her. _Thank god Kakashi is finally out of his 'condition.' _Tsunade rubbed her temples with her smooth finger tips, hoping for any kind of stress relief.

_Might as well find something to do._ Naruto wanted to find Jiraiya and train with him all day just to spite Tsunade for taking away his privacy and freedom. As usual, he found the pervert up to his antics, trying to spy on the public bathing house on women, the same spot as when he had first began his training. Naruto landed softly next to Jiraiya, and resumed the folded arms behind the head posture, eyes squinted close4 above his whiskered cheeks.

"Ero-senin," he said in a glum greeting.

"Hm? Naruto?" Jiraiya blinked at the uncharacteristically lethargic blonde nin from over his broad shoulder. "What's wrong my boy?"

"Huh? Oh nothing, was just being chewed out by Obaachan." Jiraiya made a knowing, disatisfied grunt as he lifted himself a little so he could turn and face his apprentice a bit better, propping himself onto one elbow.

"I know what that's like. What-" Below and behind Jiraiya, there was a chorus of screeching and splashing followed by the sporadic, sharp slapping of flat flesh on wet concrete. 

"Those perverts are trying to peep at us!" sounded almost as soon as the screeching had ended. All the women vacated in a stampede to the safety of the changing room. Jiraiya had a crushed, exasparated face as he watched his prized spying content hurry out of view, all the air leaving his large chest.

"Naruto..."

"Eh?"

"You really need to change your outfit."

"What's wrong with my outfit!" Naruto growled. Everyone was knit picking him today.

"..it's **orange**. _Bright_ orange." Jiraiya tried to not lose his cool. Truthfully, Naruto was less orange than usual though. Naruto only had on his black undershirt and orange pants on but standing wasn't the best idea when trying to peep..

"So?" Jiraiya slammed his face into the tiled roof from his laying position. Picking himself up with a bleeding nose, the man glared down at the blonde nin.

"**_BAKA_**!" The older man whapped Naruto on the top of the head, who rubbed it and grumbled. "Don't you remember how much it sticks out? Like, right now for example? Or when you tried eavesdropping on me last time?" Naruto seemed unphased, so Jiraiya grabbed him by the forearm and practically carried him to the market place.

A good deal calmer, as was Jiraiya's typical tempermant after a minute, he watched Naruto beside him with one eye closed and his arms crossed over his broad chest. The young nin was marching unhappily with his arms behind his head still, grumbling about being made to do this and that but that he can't do such and such all of a sudden, and that his outfit apparently sucked. "Na-ru-to," Jiraiya sounded out his pupil's name to get his attention.

Naruto stopped mid-rant. "Eh?" He blinked up at Jiraiya.

"I've..gotten information that you were all alone with a certain miss Hyuuga Hinata for what must've been an hour or more... Is that true?" Naruto's face lost all its grumpiness and he began to fidget, poking his fingers together much like the indigo haired girl would. A rosiness also reminiscent to the said girl mischeviously found its way onto the whiskered cheeks of the little nin.

"Eh heh heh. Well, yeah..." Naruto began slowly.

The grey-haired man grinned at Naruto and gave him a dual thumbs up. "That's great! I definately approve one-hundred percent!" He shouted unnecessarily at the boy only a handful of feet away from his side. Other people on the street were staring over at the noise... The older man's enthusiasm was uncontainable, as he readied more shouted speech. This seemed to shock Naruto into action.

"But we didn't really do anything! She just took me to this cliff that had a beautiful area beneath it, honest believe it! And we um.." Naruto didn't want to tell the next part of what happened, though Jiraiya could tell something big was being hidden. He was an expert of 'information gathering' after all. It was all too suspicious. "Um she fainted like usual and all I did was write for a little while like how aniki had suggested and that was it, believe it.." He continued to poke his fingers together. He was suddenly afraid to touch the subject of Hinata after finding out she was the girl from the night while they had searched for the Bikochu bug.

Jiraiya sighed, straightening up. He opened his eyes, focused on Naruto, giving off a single glint from one. "Then how come she came into town with your jacket on?" Naruto choked while he looked like he was going to have an anneurism, then face vaulted, twitching. Naruto got back onto his feet, sputtering speechlessly. Jiraiya burst out into boistrous laughter and putting a well muscled arm across Naruto's shoulders, began to push the unwilling nin towards a clothes store.

"Damn it, nothing really happened, believe it! I'm nothing like you Ero-senin!" Naruto yelled at the adult, flailing his fists at Jiraiya's largely muscled arm, but it only caused him to laugh more enthusiastically.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Female shinobi.**


	15. Chp 15: Time Skips Suck part 1

Time skips suck...hate em.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There, now all that fuss doesn't seem worth the trouble, does it?" Jiraiya folded his arms across his broad chest. Naruto wasn't sure though. He still tried to observe his outfit.

"It..looks cooler, I have to admit it.." Naruto gave in. The majority of his jacket was black now. The sleeves, and zipper lin as well as collar and neck area were the main difference. His shoes went up his shins a little bit now, giving more ankle support, and he had a much longer bandana to his forehead protector.

"Consider it an early birthday gift, October's coming after all**(1)**. I bought you a few sizes larger than what you are now so you can grow into them. You'll thank me for it later when you realize how much more successful your peeping will be." Jiraiya watched the amazed Naruto with one eye as they walked. _What'll everyone else think?_ Jiraiya sounded out Naruto's name to make sure the nin was paying attention. The blonde nin looked up. "Even if you do not want to leave, for the time being we will have to buckle down on your training. We've covered the basics, it's time to refresh you for your Chuunin exam."

Naruto started. "Chuunin exams, already?" He blinked in surprise.

"Of course. They're held twice a year, remember? Though the second exam in your original year was held off due to the chaos Konoha was in, everything's stable enough now. Life must go on, you know." Naruto nodded. "Hrm.." Jiraiya frowned. "I wonder what they'll do about your team situation though.."

"**_Konohamaru!_**" Naruto burst out at Tsunade, slamming his palms on her desk. The poor woman sighed, burying her face in her hand while massaging it. Her slender but busty body ached all over, she didn't need her brain to as well. Jiraiya would have to give her a nice massage later..

"Yes, out of his team, only Konohamaru is ready to take the exam. It works out quite nicely with you still here and all," she said muffled.

"But he's only ten! I graduated at twelve!" Naruto complained. Tsunade sighed.

"You won't like where that arguement goes, Naruto." The blonde nin reacted as though struck.

"He's got the go from his trainer, his marks are good enough, you need another teammate. This discussion is over." Tsunade shooed Naruto away with an irritable hand gesture from where she sat. "Not you though." She shot Jiraiya a look that told him silently, 'if you leave, I will kill you messily.'

It really seemed these days were not going his way. The last few months of training with Jiraiya and keeping himself ocuppied without getting into trouble were taxing. He hadn't seen any of his new friends he had made since around the time he had decided to not leave Konoha for a few years to train, and he was sure they could give him a few pointers. Though then again, maybe he didn't need them. The extra year of experience he had been given due to his own original exams had been a good boost to his knowledge and talents. He had done a few B missions here and there with his former sensei, Kakashi, but they were nothing to brag about. Jiraiya had begun to train Naruto's ability to control the power of the demon sealed within him and tap into his red chakra. However, after the initial few lessons which resulted in him going beserk and scarring his sensei across the chest, he had become a lot more hesitant about the training and would play hookey quite frequently. As much as he hated to admit it to anyone, Jiraiya was the closest thing Naruto had to a father. An extremely open, super perverted ninja father who had been absent the first thirteen years of his life. Physically the boy had grown a little, becoming less stocky as was typical of younger boys, and his whisker birthmarks becoming a little more prominent.

_Like Ero-senin would complain about the time off._ Naruto sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. He stared up at the sparesly clouded skies. _The exam's in a couple of weeks. I know I shouldn't be worried about it, but I still feel uneasy for some reason._

"Mm, look at this guy. I thought you were someone else for a minute there," remarked a familiar voice behind Naruto's shoulder. Wide eyed, he turned around to find a familiar, half-hidden face a couple of inches taller than himself, the same height he had been the last time the blonde nin had seen him. Naruto flung himself at the larger, older nin and squeezed him, causing the poor brunette to make a pained sound. His friend irritably shrugged Naruto's bear hug off by with a strained groan, putting his hands on the insides of either of Naruto's forearms and forcefully jerking his bent, upward angled arms away, breaking the younger nin's hold. It was rather the surprising phenomenom, concidering the difference in the two shinobis' strengths.

"Naruto! Don't cling," he scolded. "You're going to kill me one of these days, I don't have the same kind of stamina as you."

"Eh heh heh, sorry aniki! How long have you been here?" he asked excitedly.

"Mm, not long. Sorry that you weren't my first visit," he began.

"Haha, don't worry about it dattebayo! But uh..who was your first.." His friend smiled softly and stepped to the side, revealing a flushed Hinata who had been trying to hide herself behind him. It must've been fairly difficult, because she had become a bit curvier. It was easy to tell despite her wearing her trademark baggy jacket. She gasped with a start, becoming a bit more rosey and turning herself to her side, trying to fold herself up a bit as she shyly gazed with her pale eyes at the blonde nin. "Oh..uh..hey, Hinata-chan.." Naruto said uncomfortably. Shirasei looked between the two, one and then the other. He sighed, rolling his dark eyes. _These damn kids, it's going to already be too late before they stop beating around the bush..I thought when she said she had his.._

"Anyways, I had just wanted to ask her about her juuken**(2)**. Which I did already. So..I probably shouldn't hang around as an unwanted guest.."

"N-no wait!" Naruto began, getting ready to grab the older shinobi. Unfortunately he ducked behind a startled Hinata in a sort of spin, and took off to the roofs. "Ah..damn it aniki..he's gotten a little faster."

Naruto turned his attention to his remaining friend, since they were alone now. She smiled timidly at Naruto, still blushing. He fidgeted uncomfortably a little. Hinata had begun to let her hair grow out so that it had passed her ears all around except her indigo bangs. She hadn't seemed to grow any in height, but was losing the stockiness of being a child, like Naruto. "Ano.." _Say something, you haven't seen him in four months._ "I.." _Tell him he looks good, it's nice to see him, compliment his clothes or something. _"I..I like..yo-your new jacket..Naruto-kun.." she flushed hotly, poking her fingers together - she still had his old one.

"Eh? It is nice, isn't it?" Naruto stretched out the mostly black jacket infront of his chest at an angle, eyeing it. "Ero-senin bought me a new outfit for my birthday." He rubbed the back of his head. It was the first time someone he knew had bought him something for his birthday. Throughout the years he had strangely found gifts in his mailbox on Christmas and his birthday, ever since he had started at the academy. They were always anonymous. In his thick headed stubbornness, he had first thought they were from Sakura who vehemently denied doing it until it came down to her literally beating it into the blonde nin's head that she didn't send them and never would want to. He remembered his first present ironically enough - the trademark orange jump suit he always wore. He had come to the conclusion they were from Sarutobi, but the man had passed away a few months before his last birthday during the Chuunin exams. Right as rain, Naruto had still received a present (a pair of engraved chopsticks with gold colored letters that spelt his name - he took with him on all his missions). "Um.." Naruto drummed his fingers against his thigh nervously. "Were you in the middle of something..?" he asked slowly.

The girl shook her head, smiling softly with her trademark rosiness. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"Um..I was just thinking about a lot of things. When I think, I like to go somewhere special. I just thought after you took me.." he started to trail off a bit, and Hinata's flush became deeper. "..you know..maybe I could repay the favor.." To his relief, she gave an 'mh,' with a nod and waited for him to lead the way with her flushed cheeks. Side by side, they slowly found themselves ontop of the four faces of the previous Hokage, carved into the over-looking mountain side. They hadn't said much, it was a little uncomfortable but not overbearingly. Naruto gave a deep intake of breath and sighed. "I like being high up for some reason. I don't know why, but it helps me think. When we were together last time, Hinata-chan, I began to write while you were asleep." Naruto didn't look at his highly embarassed companion. "I never wrote like that before then, but..something about that place seemed to bring it out of me. Like the natural beauty." He looked at his intrigued friend, whose admiring expression changed back to flushed when his gaze turned to her. "Eh heh heh heh," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm starting to sound like aniki a bit I guess."

"Is that bad, Naruto-kun?" Hinata blinked at him. She had always liked the changes that were happening to her, except maybe becoming more curvey - it embarassed her. She didn't do anything about it though since it might attract Naruto's attention as well as all the other boys and men.. "I've been changing a lot, and I've been finding myself able to like myself more and more, little by little," she let out softly.

"Hmm..no, I think you're right. It's a good change.." He looked over the edge again, at the free skies. Hinata was just happy to be near him again. It was strange that he they hadn't bumped into each other at least the last four months. Well, not that strange. After their last encounter, Hinata wasn't sure about being around Naruto anymore. She had avoided him to the best of her abilities - it had taken Shirasei to show up and ask her about her juuken to actually get her out of the Hyuuga complex on her day off. She was afraid of how he felt now, what she might have to face, but it seemed at worst he felt the same as before, and she was okay with that. Though of course, she hoped for more. Smiling to herself, rosy across her cheekbones, Hinata watched the serene look on Naruto's face.

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata said reluctantly, after some time.

"Ne?" Naruto blinked, and looked over at Hinata, as if coming out of deep thought. It made her smile a bit despite her regret.

"I should get going, I need to finish preparing for the Chuunin exams," she explained softly. He smiled in return.

"Do your best, Hinata-chan. I know you'll pass either way, you've become so much stronger." This made her chest lock up, and her face become completely red.

"You..you..t-too..Naruto..ku-kun." Then she turned and hurried home. _Well, that wasn't as weird as I had thought it would be. Awkward, but I had imagined worse._ Naruto sighed, and took out his writing pad and pencil. _Can't practice what Jiraiya taught me with the light grey maned frog charmer massaging Obaachan, the perverted stuff or no. Bet he loved that turn of fortune dattebayo.._

"Mm..I see you've been practicing?" Naruto gave an irritated jump. Slowly, twitching, he looked at his friend, a vein pulsating on his forehead. "..what?"

"**Now** you show up?" Shirasei blinked down at the blonde nin.

"Naruto...I was standing behind you two the entire time you were up here. It's not my fault you didn't notice me hanging out in the open." Naruto tensed his shoulders, twitching. "I guess you two just enjoy each other's company that much." He narrowed his eyes and gave a small, uncharacteristic grin at Naruto.

"Baka! What is it with you?" Naruto demanded, voice picking up in octave as he held up a clenched fist threateningly. His friend gave him a funny look.

"I just want you to be happy, kid. Life's really too short." Naruto paused his anger, concidered it and subsided to grumbling. "Anyways, I overheard your loud declaration you've been writing?" Naruto mumbled something about not being taught what exactly to write. "Well let me see at least." He held out his wrapped up hand, waiting. Naruto plopped the small pile of papers into Shirasei's hand. The older nin looked over the seemingly random things Naruto had written on the pad. _His penmanship is at least getting better._

"Huh..that was a mistake. Okay, well before I go, I'm going to have to show you how to do the bingo circle graph properly."

"What?" Naruto blinked. He jabbed his finger out at Shirasei and yelled, "you mean you didn't show me the right way to do it the first time!"

"Huh? No, I never showed you how to do the _bingo_ circle graph, ahou." Shirasei poked the paper, indicating Naruto's odd series of webs within a circle**(3)**.

"Oh that. Um, okay." Naruto sat himself down, as did his friend. Turning to a blank page, Shirasei brought out his pen, then reached in his butt pocket and wrenched out his bingo book. He created the webs inside the circle. Outside of the circle, he put, 'Ninjutsu' at the top, then 'Taijutsu' to the right along the circle, 'Genjutsu' at the very far right, 'Intelligence', 'Force' at the bottom, 'Speed' to the left of it, 'Stamina' to the left of the circle itself, and 'Seal Knowledge' to the left of Ninjutsu.

"I'm not sure what you've been doing, but here's the actual way to do it. Everything is rated one to five, one being worst, five being best. One would be academy level (you should never have a one)," Shirasei eyed Naruto who gave a nervous grin and laugh. "two is genin level, three is chuunin, four is jounin and five is kage level." He paused, and began flipping through his bingo book. "Now, if I remember..you are page.." he began placing dots on the webs near the listed attributes. "Your stamina is a four, speed is three, force is a three, intelligence is a..one and a half.." Shirasei eyed an embarassed Naruto with one of his somewhat thick eyebrows raised, "genjutsu one (figures 'hey!'), taijutsu is two and ninjutsu is a three (hm..thought you'd have a four in ninjutsu..) and a seal knowledge of..one..**(4)**" Shirasei furrowed his eyebrows at Naruto who squirmed uncomfortably. "I hope you've been working on these weak areas for your exam, kid." Shirasei then connected all the dots, shading in the new polygon figure.

"I should've passed last time, just war broke out! I didn't even need to train if you ask me." Naruto's anger surprised the young man.

"Naruto, don't take things like this so lightly. The Chuunin exam is how I jumped from Genin to Jounin," he warned in his deep voice.

"Che.." Naruto tossed his head irritably. He would've won the whole schbang last time.

"Well, it's your loss. Just remember though that if you keep that attitude up, things are going to turn out to be some real disappointments to you later on." Shirasei slapped the pad in Naruto's lap and got up, replacing his bingo book in his back pocket. He turned and began to walk away.

"Still no luck with Tameiya?" Naruto looked over at the back of his friend's blue and black plaid, collared shirt. Shirasei paused as soon as Naruto finished his sentence.

"Juuken wasn't the only thing I spoke to Hinata about. I have a hunch.." Naruto blinked and started to get up.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Shirasei stood quiet for a good amount of time, as if carefully deciding what to say.

"She wears your jacket sometimes." Naruto was startled at the fact it was such a strange answer and what it would mean if it was true. "Ja ne**(5)**." Shirasei gave a lazy, single wave over his shoulder, then hopped over the edge of the monuments with his arms trailing above him, leaving a flustered Naruto behind. _Huh? What kind of answer was that?_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Naruto's Birthday is in October according to Wikipedia.**

**(2) 'Gentle Fist Style'**

**(3) Follows the same system as the author's only Naruto reference listed in his profile.**

**(4) The stats seem low, but by the point where the anime is currently (close to episode 200), these are Naruto's stats. It may surprise you but if you review his fights, they actually aren't impressive in any other manner than him taking a large beating. Once in a while he'll do something to surprise his opponent, but it's mainly the fact they thought he would never even try something cunning behind the majority of the shock. In other words, he just gets underestimated a lot.**

**(5) 'See you.'**


	16. Chp 16: Time Skips Suck part 2

Timeskips still suck. I know that it's supposed to be a Naru x Hina but there's a reason some characters get a lot of attention. The story's about Naruto becoming a young man, too. But I am trying to shell out more Naru x Hina..I am.

I skipped the Chuunin exams (I know, everyone got all excited with the mention of Konohamaru) because you already saw it in the anime/manga the first time around. It'd have been boring to read as well as write when a lot of the mystery is gone. Feh..I almost didn't put this chapter up but it's the only thing (Naru x Hina) that churned out of my writer's block.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ahhh, just like I told everyone." Naruto walked alongside Jiraiya, flexing his arm and feeling it himself, appreciatively. "I didn't expect all of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai to make Chuunin, but I guess I'm not that surprised either.." Naruto grinned up at Jiraiya, expecting praise.

"I found it interesting your peer, Neji, made the jump from Genin to Jounin." Naruto hung his head. "I also found it entertaining that your little friend Hinata faced her cousin in the finals, after beating _you_." Naruto completely deflated. It was great for the pale eyed companion of his, but completely unforseen by him. "Well, either way at least you don't have anymore excuses about training your red chakra use now, Naruto." Naruto started, then sighed. Everytime he saw Jiraiya, he saw the scar he had given him in the opening of down the center of his uniform. They had had to rush him to Tsunade immediately. Jiraiya noted Naruto's hesitance. "Naruto, there's no substitution for experience. You can keep putting off your practice - I won't chase you, but your control over the demon and its power will never get any better that way." Naruto remembered the haughty laughter of the little rapist inside of his mind. Her sly, gentle but controlling touch slowly running all over his growing muscles.

"I know.." Naruto watched the ground as he contemplated. What if it was worse next time. What if it was fatal? What if it was someone else? What if it was..

"Hinata-sama," Neji bowed respectfully to Hinata as she excused herself from the low set table.

"Neji nii-san," Hinata inclined her head before passing her guardian, who walked with her, slightly behind her. In the usual stoic silence, Neji escorted his cousin through the complex at their unhurried pace. His attitude towards the main house had calmed down a great deal since their first Chuunin exams, but after this year's, he actually respected his cousin. He had defeated her but nothing like the first time they had dueld.

They climbed a flight of stairs, and he saw her to her room. "Good night, Neji nii-san," she said softly, sliding the door open. She stopped with her foot halfway through though. Neji seemed hesitant to leave. Typically he would be the first to say good night, then turn and go before she had even opened her door. He was looking off to the side when she regarded him. "Neji nii-san, what's on your mind?" Hinata faced her taller cousin. He was still at a loss for words. She blinked, waiting patiently for him to come around to it.

Finally, unassuredly, as if still trying to finalize his thoughts, Neji raised his similiarly pale gaze to Hinata. "Hinata-sama..now that I am Jounin, I will not be able to watch over you very much anymore." She nodded. She had known this. "I know that at first I blamed the head family, and you, for what I thought was an insufferable fate. But I've since changed my ways and feelings." Hinata smiled softly. Just another change in her life she was glad for. "I want you to be happy - because you are my cousin. Not because you are in the head family." Neji then let out unevenly after a sigh, "With.." Neji's cheeks pinked a bit, "with..Ten Ten..and..myself.." he said slowly. Hinata couldn't help but giggle softly with one of her small hands infront of her plush lips, making her normally near-emotionless cousin blush a bit more and tense his shoulders. He knew it wasn't meant to harm him though. "She..she made the first move. That's..that's all, Hinata-sama. Good night." He bowed, and made his way back downstairs. Hinata bit her lower lip, and entered her room, closing the door behind her. She went to her closet and pulled out the slightly dirty, orange jacket that she had had for a good handful of months now, and layed herself down ontop of her sheets and blankets, hugging it. _Ten Ten is a much more out going girl than I am though.._

_"Don't think,"_ a different voice than her own echoed in her mind. _"That lunk head, I don't think he'll ever come around to grasps with doing what he should. If you find yourself thinking too much, stop thinking. Maybe you'll just do what you want." _Hinata faded away into the dream world.

_In her mind came the view from the top of the monuments, the blue sky stretching infront of them, the mess of colors being the village below them. A good distance out, until the horizon was the sea of green tree tops. She was standing next to Naruto. When she looked over, he was talking, facing the sky, with a dull sadness on his face. Sometimes tears would roll down his cheeks, across his whiskers when he spoke. She couldn't hear what he was saying. He spoke for a long time like that, sometimes pausing to take in a breath or sigh with his pained eyes shut. He looked like a burden was being lifted from himself as he stood there in her close company, shuddering, choking sometimes on a sob but smiling softly._

_Naruto had grown more, his limbs becoming more proportional to an older boy. His head had become less rounded and more ovular, and he had grown more than a handful more inches taller. He still had the same, uncombed hair style bristling over his long head band, but the hair had grown a bit longer. Across either shoulder were the straps of two straight edged swords. The one over his right shoulder was the standard two and a half foot blade length, the other around four feet. The longer one was at a more horizontal angle than the short bladed katana. They crossed at his upper back, tilting the handles between either shoulder. She herself, hands folded infront of her as she listened intently, looked like she was wearing the same outfit as now, just larger and the torso portion of her jacket being a faded indigo, the hood and sleeves still being a light cream color. In the small opening of the front of her jacket hinted a v-neck fish-net undershirt. She had also lost the stubbiness of youth, and had grown a few more inches as well becoming a lot more curvier, into an hour glass figure. Her face had also lengthened from her younger years to look more like a grown woman's. They must've been in their mid or begining their late teenage years. The wind stubbornly, continuously pulled at their loose fitting clothing, only accentuating Naruto's muscles and her curves._

_"Naruto-kun, let me take your pain away," was what every fiber in her body was telling her. As she watched herself, the older Hinata with wind blowing through her longer, purple hair reached over slowly, and brushed the tear stains away from the taller, blonde's closest cheek with her slender thumb, holding his head with her small hand. He gently took her hand in his own two, eyes flickering from moisture as he gazed into her pale eyes. He squeezed her small hand softly, bracing himself, as if the gesture would give him all the strength in the world, as if the next thing he was going to do would take no less than that strength._

_"Life's too short, Hinata. I...I love you," he told her with difficulty, like it was a leap of faith, anxiously waiting for a response._

_"Naruto! I love you!" She instantly declared. They both laughed short, nervous, geniune laughs, their tears of joy being carried away by the wind, mingling together. They became one, eyes half closed, pressing against each other, arms wrapped to hold the other as if they would never have to part. Their lips were flush together, heads tilted, a great feeling of giddiness inside their stomachs and chests, eyes closing together. Their hearts melted against their pressed chests and became one in their minds as their mixed tears glittered away like gems._

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, fluttering them unevenly. _That dream again..? _She found the orange jacket still held against her, as she had held the boy of her dreams. _Be today, please.._

Hinata didn't need to get dressed being she fell asleep without changing. She eyed the orange jacket though. _Maybe just once..it could be fun going out._ The young Hyuuga folded it up neatly. _Yes, go out today..maybe something good will happen. _Outside of the classical architecture of her neighborhood, Hinata found herself wandering aimlessly. _Does he really not know by now? Why can complete strangers pick up my feelings for Naruto-kun but not him? _She stopped, finding herself at the same place she discovered Naruto was a lot more like herself than she had realized. Three large, thick, wooden pillars were embedded upright in the ground near a dirt trail. Hinata smiled softly, remembering Naruto's confession.

_"I only act loud and confident all the time because I'm mad. I always make mistakes and come in last place."_ It was the first time she had managed to truely open up to him. But even then, he had missed the most important part of her heartfelt arguement. _"That lunk head, I don't think he'll ever come around.."_ she smiled sadly. Would she ever come around to finally saying? Surprised, Hinata realized she was still holding Naruto's orange jacket. After looking at the 'least ninja' outfit of their age group, she smiled and slowly removed her own, heavier jacket and put on Naruto's light feeling orange windbreaker. She gave a deep intake of breath, rubbing the light fabric against her arms, hugging herself. _Did this jacket bring you much warmth and comfort, Naruto-kun..?_ Picking up her own light colored jacket and hooking it over the nook of one of her arms, Hinata began to wind her path back down to the residential areas. It was strange, but wearing the jacket made her feel..more at ease, despite the color screaming for attention. It had been perfect for Naruto when he had been a boy, when he had craved for attention more than anything. Oddly, she felt more free than when she wore her own jacket to hide herself. She giggled softly to herself. _Is this how you feel Naruto-kun?_

Naruto's lips parted a bit, as he blinked at the strange sight crossing his path. Hinata _was_ wearing _his_ jacket with a mild blush, lost in her own thoughts with the most content smile on her upturned face, angled a bit at the skies above. Perhaps because she wasn't quite used to his new jacket, she hadn't noticed him across the street as she turned the corner. _Damn it, Ero-sennin.._

Naruto looked around and slinked back into a nearby ally. _Henge_**(1)** **puff...** Out walked a teenager, tall for his age. His brunette head had a short, spikey affro. His jacket was a pale grey, and he wore opaque, circle framed, black shades. Shino, hands in pocket, slowly approached the orange-clad Hinata. He walked next to the girl who was watching the ground as she thought to herself for a good twenty seconds or so before she felt odd and raised her head. With a slight jump, raising her hand to her lips, Hinata noticed Shino who did not return any noticeable gesture.

"Shino-kun, how..how long were you walking beside me?" She blushed a bit. Having been so absorbed in her own thoughts was fairly embarassing. _So she doesn't just do that for me?_ Shino turned his head slowly to Hinata as they walked.

In his monotonous, thoughtful and deep voice, he answered. "...A while. The orange caught my attention." Shino had slightly emphasized 'orange.' Only slightly. Reaching up, Shino adjusted his shades via the nose frame and returned the said hand to its proper pocket.

Ducking into her shoulders a little, she started to poke her fingers. "Well, you know it's Naruto-kun's..I just like wearing it sometimes..when I left my home, I didn't realize that..I still was holding it. I felt like wearing it for a bit.." She confessed. "It makes me feel a bit more relaxed.." her cheeks became a little rosier. _Hm.._

"I see," Shino replied in his flat voice. Hinata seemed to loosen up a bit since her initial surprise.

"Shino-kun, why are you out here? Normally you spend non-mission time with your family." _Oh shit.._Shino walked on pensively as Hinata blinked at him with her pale eyes curiously. He didn't seem very out of character but he didn't have much time. _Ah what to say, what to say. What's not a big gamble? If I say something way out there she's gonna know!_ Shino scanned the street shops unnoticeably from behind his shades.

"I had to pick up a bag of bread rolls." He stopped infront of a bakery abruptly.

"Bread..rolls?" Hinata blinked. Shino gripped his pant leg through is jacket pocket. "Oh, that's lucky! Now I can get my favorite snack, cinnamon rolls with senzai**(2)** coating too!" The timid girl smiled at her teammate. "Shino-kun, let me buy your rolls, please!" Hinata put her palms together infront of her teammate, bowing her head a bit with her eyes clenched shut.

"...alright." He wasn't sure what to say but hoped that wasn't too out of character. Hinata flushed mildly with a melting smile, and hurried over to the open counter. _Oh man this is crazy..damn Ero-sennin.._ A few moments later, she returned and held out the bag to Shino who slowly removed his hand from his pocket and grasped the plastic bag by the cinch. Hinata contently bit into her pastry, which Shino made a mental note of and filed it away. _Oh..no. Where does Shino live? This is out of character but better than hitting that dead end, believe it._ "Hinata," Shino turned to face Hinata while they walked slowly. She paused in her chewing to politely listen. "..are you returning home for the evening? I could escort you to your neighborhood."

The teenage girl turned her gaze to the ground and thought, delicately nibbling from the sweet food in her hand. "Mh," she shook her head. _Chikusho.._ "I wanted to go ontop of the Konoha monument and think for a while before going home.." Her cheeks reddened a great deal.

"Oh..alright." _Erk._ "..I'll be on my way then."

"Take care, Shino-kun!" Hinata called out softly as she wound her way towards the monument. Shino stood still, not sure where to go, hoping she wouldn't turn around and notice him staring at her. Fortunately the indigo haired teenager disappeared after a long minute of unease. Shino puffed into a cloud of smoke to reveal our blonde nin, who blinked at the bag of rolls he was holding. _Senzai and cinnamon rolls? I guess whenever she eats ramen, she's going out of her way to not be troublesome.. _Naruto paused, then rubbed the back of his head as he made his own way towards the monument, laughing his usual chuckle.

_Naruto-kun..I wish my dream would come true.._ Hinata stared out over the top of one of the giant heads. The steady breeze played with her hair, pulling it to one side. _If only you were here right now. Maybe I could tell you for once.._

"Yo, Hinata!" Kiba's energetic voice reached his friend's ears. She turned and waved to him. "Ah..." Kiba settled down near her. "What're you doing up here all by yourself, Hinata?" He grinned at her through his downward triangled markings that took up either cheek almost. His canines were sharper than a normal person's, and his pupils were sharper and slittled.

Hinata smiled and sat down near him, still facing the way she had been. "I come here to think. Naruto-kun shared this place with me.." She flushed softly, smiling contently. "I don't know why, but..I feel like..like some day this place will be very important to my life..I hope.." Hinata trailed off hoping she didn't sound weird.

"Oh? Huh." Kiba gave a shrug. "Nothing wrong with following your gut instinct." He sighed and stretched out, gazing at the dusky sky.

"Ano..Kiba-kun? Where's Akamaru-kun?" The teenage girl blinked her pearl like eyes. _Oh crap.._

"Eh, sometimes.." Kiba fidgetted. "..Akamaru..well, once in a great while you see...uh...even the best of friends need space, right? Ha ha ha.." Kiba laughed nervously. He had to mentally refrain himself from rubbing the back of his bushy-topped head.

"Oh..I guess. Even the best of friends.." Hinata turned her pale gaze down.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Kiba sat up. She smiled sadly.

"I've changed a lot since our first Chuunin exams, and I'm happy. But I still can't tell Naruto-kun how I feel." _I guess 'how do you feel,' would be a stupid question as much as I want to ask it. _"We've grown a lot closer recently, but I still can't..he doesn't seem to feel the same way either.." she trailed off. After the adding together of her performance at the stream, she would've figured Naruto would sway one way or the other, but he had stayed the same for the most part. After an awkward pause (_ugh, what's something annoying Kiba would say?_), Kiba sighed.

"That guy," Kiba said with a bit of a bite. Another awkward pause (_uh..._), "...ano sa.."

Hinata smiled softly. "No, Kiba-kun." _Huh?_ "You know I don't want to see anyone other than him..even if I can never let him know.." She sighed. Kiba blinked at her in shock. Hinata got up, not seeming to notice. "Thanks for spending some time with me, Kiba-kun." Hinata smiled softly. "Goodnight." She bowed a little politely, hands folded in her lapbowed and began to head home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) 'Transform'**

**(2) This is a soft bean jam. According to Wikipedia, those two are Hinata's favorite foods. I just added them together at once for the hell of it.**


	17. Chp 17: What If

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiba disappeared in a small cloud of stiff smoke, which quickly disappated. Naruto stared up at the skies, hands folded behind his head. _So that's how it is, huh?_

Jiraiya's head looked like it was going to explode, the skin pink from trapped blood. The hands that squeezed the older man's thick neck were small and youthful. They had become a bit more gnarled and lengthier than normal, and the finger nails had extended an inch or two into sharp claws. The teenage boy shuddered as he squeezed harder, straining his wirey muscles, his pupils having shrunk and become red and vertically slitlike. His whisker birthmarks had expanded into thick lines and stretched, and the underneath part of his eyes had become shaded as if from natural black mascara. His eyes had shrunk vertically but widened horizontally. His lips drew tightly back, stretching, distorting his birthmarks, revealing his clenched, sharpened teeth. Soft, red light outlined the figure of the boy, the top near his head having two protrusions much like a four legged mammal's ears. The light continued around the rest of his body to his toes. At his butt two long, soft looking protrusions made out of the red light snaked away from his body and curled up, fanning towards the end. He had the large man on the ground, and was hunched over it himself, leaning foreward.

"N..aru..to.." Jiraiya choked out as he grimaced, trying to pry the boy's steeled grip from his throat. A small trail of blood found its way down from underneath one of the sharp claws digging in the long-haired man's neck. Jiraiya lowered his large hand to the ground, palm up. Blue light swirled into it, and rapidly formed a rotating sphere on his palm. Naruto twisted like a cartwheel in place, his claws slipping from the thick neck of Jiraiya, and shot backwards like an insane corkscrew almost a moment later. The older man turned over onto his hands and knees, gripping the grass with one hand as he coughed, the previously blocked air shocking his system as he managed to take in the relieving breaths.

The orange and black blur coated with red lighting crashed into a thick tree trunk a few seconds later and bounced off, hovering slightly in place. Naruto arced lazily onto his front, and layed there. The soft, red glow that had surrounded him faded away in a moment. His fingers became a bit stubbier and humanlike, the nails retreating as he lay face in in the dirt.

_I'm getting too old for this.._ Jiraiya continued to hack, drowning his lungs as he hurriedly tried to breathe air into them. The black and orange figure stirred, and began to raise itself.

Naruto's heart felt a pierce as a cold sweat coated him, seeing the Frog Charmer fighting for breath, neck bleeding. _I must've done it. I don't remember anything after he told me to try to delve deeper into the energy. After I had one tail.._ Naruto's eyes flickered, moistening. All he had remembered after being told to push further was a red haze. He turned his back on the struggling man who raised one hand weakly after the shrinking boy and who crashed through the trees hurriedly, not knowing where he was going. _What if I kill him some day? Then I'll have this big hole in myself, my conscience..what if I kill someone else. What if I just lose control the next time and I never come back to knowing who I am, thinking, feeling, gone forever? What'll I do to everyone I know? People I don't know?_

Naruto crashed into a clearing and found himself alongside a small, mellow, beautiful stream that ran from as far as he could see into the trees to over a cliff near his other side. The ground was grassy, and the wind gently rolled itself against him, strangely calming him. Numbly, hands trembling as he slowly walked to the edge, whole body shuddering, he gazed over the side. It was the same as last time, maybe more white dotting one half of the sky. The green below him stretched from one side to the other, becoming far darker and the sky matching it. Holding the green towards Naruto, not letting it escape beyond it. The foreboding browns and earthy colors of the mountains cut out of the expansive greens, allowing the boy to see that behind it were hills of rolling soft orange, yellow and tans.

The tops of his arms sore with small, dull aches, Naruto looked down at his hand, turning it, jittery. From the tips of his thumb and forefinger he could see a miandering line of dark red, traveling down his two fingers to the knuckle of his thumb near his wrist. It wasn't even dry yet. _Ero-senin..I can't do this.._ he looked over the edge. He could do that though. He could just take a couple steps and fall, all the burden and tension would be lifted. He might find peace in the eternal black. He might be free from all his worries about a mindless abonimation wearing his face as a mask, murdering all those he had come to love and more.

"No girlfriend today?" At first Naruto thought it was the wind, that his mind playing tricks on him. But a moment later he realized he had heard this whisper before. He turned and saw a little behind him, a somewhat shorter woman was looking up at him from behind his shoulder. Naruto blinked at her blue eyes, so alive that he thought for that moment they could hold him down forever if they wanted to. The green headed lady sighed, and at a very slow pace for a few steps, stood herself next to the taller but younger boy. Naruto would've guessed her to be five feet tall if he wasn't so distressed. "What're you doing out here all by yourself?" Naruto heard over the soft wind in his ears.

"I don't know, samurai lady," he admitted. "I wasn't thinking of where I was going when I found myself here finally.." the small woman raised her thin eyebrows under the thick mess of jagged bangs. They looked like she had seriously just grabbed them with one hand and pulled one of her swords through to keep them trimmed. Despite her eyes being half closed, the bangs almost went into the open parts anyways. "I just.."

"You ran away," she cut in with a sharp but soft whisper. Naruto blinked at her, surprised. "I know because that's why I come here." Naruto looked at his small companion glumly.

"I guess that's the honest way of putting it, believe it." He turned his gaze back over to the blue skies.

"Is it really so bad that you can't face it?" she asked him looking over the cliff, as if asking herself.

"I don't know.." Naruto didn't know why, but it felt easy to be honest without a second thought. Maybe it was just the beauty of the place.

"I ran away because I was too afraid to face my fears, but my life has been empty ever since. I had to leave behind everything that mattered to me, that I loved and made me happy to try to get away from pain I never knew I'd see or not. But I also ended up getting away from the joys and happiness that I never knew I'd see or not as well," she said, as if to herself more than anything.

"I don't know if I can live with what might happen." Naruto felt a dull ache in his chest, like a rope or string was constricting his heart.

"You should ask yourself if you can live with what might not," she countered without hesitation. The small woman lowered herself onto the soft, green earth, folding her legs underneath her bottom and placing her small, delicate palms on her thighs, casting her intense, blue eyes over the cliff straight ahead. Her blood red gi ruffled as the wind picked up briefly. Naruto looked at her with a blank mind for a good long while, then followed her example. She closed her eyes, breathing the same, soft, slow, relaxed pace. Naruto did the same, not knowing why or what she was thinking.

Naruto felt like he swayed in the black unsteadily. _"Naruto, there's no substitution for experience." Jiraiya told him in his masculine voice. Naruto saw himself though standing over the limp, crumpled form of the toad hermit, lying on his chest and knees, arms angled and aimed a little above his head from the sides. He looked like a lifeless frog. The savage looking blonde lowered his head, standing near the body, as a thick, red liquid dripped from his claws._ Naruto felt himself shudder invulentarily. _"Don't you care about anyone other than yourself? The power inside of you can be used to kill countless people!" Tsunade screamed at him in the darkness. He saw her in her office, eyes glazed, chin covered in shiney, dark red blood as she sat in her chair unmoving._ Naruto's eyes flickered underneath the lids. ".._I don't want to see anyone other than him..even if I can never let him know.." Hinata's gentle voice sighed at him. He saw her in the rich, silk kimono, in the elaborate room of the castle in his dreams. She was lying on her side, still, her pale lavender eyes never sparkling like the ocean again. _Naruto wanted to open his twitching eyes, but something told him not to. _"I don't know if I can live with what might happen," he told himself sadly, voice shaking. "You should ask yourself if you can live with what might not," was whispered back in his ear._

The blues and greens infront of him came back into view, blurred, sharpening into the scenery he had been viewing who knows how long ago. Naruto stood up, and the woman opened her smoldering eyes halfway, turning her gaze to him without moving. He turned himself to face her, closed his eyes and bowed for a long time. Then the blonde nin turned and began to head back. After a while, the whisper "'What if,' is a terrifying thing, but it works both ways - I discovered that too late," reached his ears and he closed his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, Naruto knew this was true. _Thank you.._

Naruto found the spot he had left Jiraiya doubled over vacated. The teenage boy slowly wound himself down the path back to Konoha in low spirits. Night had fallen, blanketting the skies dark and starry by the time the blonde nin reached Konoha. Standing at the gates was the familiar, broad and muscular form of Jiraiya. Naruto dragged his feet to the older man and stood infront of him, head down, ashamed of how he had lost control again and almost killed his sensei just like many times before. Wordlessly Jiraiya put his large hand on Naruto's shoulder and lead the depressed youth through town for a while. Naruto didn't know where they were going as he watched his own dragging feet. The familiar, moderately salty and doughy scents of Ichiraku reached Naruto's nostrils. Jiraiya sat himself down on a stool and waited for Naruto.

"Two bowls of miso chashu**(1)**," he ordered in a calm tone. Naruto climbed onto the seat next to Jiraiya, staring at the counter-top in a slouched manner. He hung his neck and drooped his shoulders. The man leaned over and put his large arm across Naruto's shoulders, patting his furthest one. The small nin threw his arms around Jiraiya's large torso, squeezing with his face against the older shinobi's broad chest. The young, long haired brunette placed their bowls of soup infront of each customer respectively. She was older than Naruto, young and pretty, smiling at the scene infront of her. Naruto ignored the food and remained attatched to Jiraiya without a sound still, as if the man would disappear forever if he let go. He couldn't help but shake from the ache in his chest, and feel hot streaks that leaked out from his eyes to match the red markings on Jiraiya's face etch on his younger, whiskered cheeks.

Later, Jiraiya placed the money for the four empty bowls infront of Naruto, and his own. For Naruto, the four bowls were light and eaten unenthusiastically. The tall nin looked down at his apprentice, who still felt and showed he was carrying a burden on his shoulders with every detail on his face. "Naruto," he said, soft and calm for the Toad Charmer. "Live your life in such a way that you won't regret it if you died the next moment. You'll be disappointed any other way," then parted his way from the sad eyed boy. He thought about what Jiraiya had said to him before turning his back and disappearing into the night. Eventually, Naruto found himself in his own bed. _"'What if,' is a terrifying thing, but it works both ways.."_ _What if.._ Naruto smiled softly to himself. _But what if not?_

Hinata found herself flushing lightly. _It's too hot for my normal jacket.._ she reasoned. Smiling to herself, the teenage girl tucked the folded up, orange jacket in her pocket. She found herself winding her way to where she always trained with her team, the morning sun warm and cover. When she had walked for a few minutes, Hinata took out the lighter, orange jacket and changed it with her white hoodie. As she continued on her way, she blushed a bit, lost in her own thoughts. _Do you have many cherished memories wearing this, Naruto-kun? All those years, since after the first time I saw you..?_ Smiling warmly to herself, the teenage girl hugged the jacket she was wearing closer to her skin, rubbing the fabric against her folded arms with her head back and eyes closed.

"Hinata-chan!" She heard his voice call, and after looking down, saw him a few moment's walk away. She felt her head heat up more. She was wearing his old jacket, what would he say? _Is he going to ask for it back..?_ She thought to herself almost disappointed, hoping the answer would be no. The young kunoichi stood infront of the taller, blonde nin.

"O..ohayo**(2)**...Naruto-kun.." she managed to say hesitantly, still pink. She blinked her larger than normal, pearl-lavender eyes at him.

"Eh heh heh, I uh..like your new look," Naruto managed to comment, rubbing the back of his head while grinning. Hinata ducked into her shoulders a bit, turning to the side with a hand near her mouth. She went from pink to red in her cheeks.

"Naruto-kun..do you want it back..?" she asked worriedly.

"Nah, I gave it to you," he said without a second thought. Hinata's face went from red to crimson. The blonde nin knitted his hands behind his back. "Um, Hinata-chan.." Naruto let off hesitantly, lacking his usual speed and volume. **He **was nervous?

"Eh?" she blinked at Naruto, losing her flush slowly.

"I was..ano.." He cast his gaze off to the side, rocking a bit, as if it would help him say whatever he was trying to. This was odd behavior for the hyperactive, loud, no-second-thoughts ninja.

"Yes, Naruto-kun..?" Hinata wondered if she could help push him along.

"I was wondering if..uh.." Naruto laughed nervously. His laughter always made her smile, her lips turning up a little. He turned his attention up to the blue skies.

"If..?" she tried to help.

"Um..maybe..if you'd like to get something to eat tonight, you know..after you're done doing whatever.." he sorta mumbled off clearly enough for her to hear. Her small hand returned to her lips, her neck up radiating intense heat. _Na..Naruto-kun just asked **me** out..on a **date**?_ The small maiden swayed dangerously. "I mean you don't have to if you need to eat dinner with your family or would rather do something else," the whiskered boy infront of her offered, too afraid to turn his gaze from the skies to the wobbling girl infront of him.

"Na...Naruto..kun...ye...yes..." she managed to sputter out softly, smiling widely at her love after realizing she had managed to.

"That's great, believe it!" Naruto's giddiness was apparently gone. "I'll wait for you by the gate, since I have to go out of the village to train with Ero-sennin. Um.." Naruto's hesitance returned, making Hinata immensely curious once again. He brought out one hand quickly from behind his back, and shoved something thin, smooth and almost plastic feeling in her hand, covering whatever it was from her view with her other hand. Hinata's mind went blank from her hands contacting Naruto's warm, meaty hands momentarily. She realized the top of the object felt roughly feathery and circular after a few moments. "I got you this, too. See you tonight!" he managed to rattle off quickly, running away towards the exit of the village while waving over his turned shoulder. Breathlessly Hinata lowered her large eyes down from the disappeared nin and opened up her hands to see the bright yellow, jagged circle and dark, rough center of a sun flower. She didn't really know what was going on or where she was going for the rest of the morning and afternoon, staring at the gift, twirling it sometimes between two fingers by its stem. It reminded her so of her belovedly attention grabbing Naruto.

"Naruto..?" Ino blinked surprised as the orange clad boy entered with a jingle, thinking the blonde topped nin was going to just walk past her shop. "Did you need something?" The kunoichi was blonde haired, blue eyed like Naruto. She was taller by an inch or two, and very slim and slender, with an already ovular head. She had almost always had that kind of head. Some blonde hair streaked in a thick two or three inch wide clump over the right side of her face, in a long, curved bang. The rest was pulled back into a pony tail behind her, reaching her mid back.

As if it was nothing abnormal, the black and orange clad boy smiled and waved. "Of course I need something dattebayo. I thought I should get someone a flower, why else would I be here?" he commented. Typically that would earn a heated arguement from the girl, but she was still getting over the shock of Naruto of all people buying something in her family's shop. "I uh..dunno what I should get though, believe it.." he admitted sheepishly, looking over the rainbowed display of different flowers.

Smiling widely, as was any time gossip and match making could be involved, Ino made herself get next to Naruto almost instantaneously. "Well, flowers have different meanings and can give off different feelings, so you can't just randomly grab one. What's the flower for?" she pried, greatly curious.

"I always get an anonymous present every birthday. This year the person sent me a flower with a strand of rosemary. I didn't get it at first but it had a tag that explained rosemary is for fond memories, and the type of flower, pansies were for happiness..I thought it was a great gift so..I..uh..well eh.." _I knew it!_ Ino squealed suddenly, delighted.

"Who is she, Naruto?" She was hunched over with her fists turned in near her lips that had been turned into a large, open-mouthed smile and widened blue eyes. If she didn't look excited and enthusiastic, no one ever would. The blonde kunoichi held her breath so she wouldn't miss a word.

"Eh heh.." Naruto laughed nervously. "It's Hinata-chan," he confessed.

"Oh Naruto!" Ino bounced up and down a couple of times, then squeezed the smaller nin who choked from the strain of the misleading kunoichi's slender arms.

"I can't..Ino..dying.." Naruto's back popped in more than one place. She gasped and let go, blinking at him with her jaw hanging in a giant smile. He choked slightly, the pressure gone.

"So what happened? Did she kiss you? Did you kiss her? Or was it one of those awkward hug things?" Ino began to shoot out excitedly without pause.

"N-n-no, nothing like that, believe it!" Naruto's cheeks grew patches of pink as he waved his hands infront of himself. "I just..asked myself 'what if,' that's all.." he trailed off. Ino looked exasparated, but after a moment her bubbly happiness returned.

"Well either way that's great! I'm happy for you two, Naruto! You have to pick a really good flower, or things can start off difficult!" Naruto was glad he didn't happen in when Ino's mother was running the shop, or he probably couldn't have gotten any advice. In the end, he found himself going along the street that Hinata typically used before cutting into the trees to reach her team.

_"Well, I think this one would be a great gift." Ino said, handing him a modest looking sun flower. Naruto blinked._

_"Aren't I supposed to get something pink or red, like a rose?" Even Naruto knew that much, or so he thought._

_"You could, but those are better to give when your love deepens," Naruto rubbed the back of his heating head. "This would be great, because it's bright and loud, like you. Don't get mad," Ino cautioned him, after he shot her a killing look. "It's loud in the sense that it's not a pain, and its color is close to your own favored brightness. It's modest but pretty, and doesn't go overboard. I mean if you want to get something else, knock yourself out, I just think it's a great choice given your personality, Naruto." Ino sagely said, smiling softly._

_"I hope you aren't pulling a very mean prank to get me back for all those years, Ino.." He would deserve it if she had decided to get him back, though._

Surrounded by the dense growth of thick tree trunks, Naruto faced the taller, lightly greyed haired man. The trees were patterned with the gnashes of four evenly spaced, small furrows. The wirey youth was hunched over, teeth gritted, eyes inhuman and red.

"Keep thinking, Naruto. Remember who you are as you delve deeper into the dark - any of your happiest memories. All of them," Jiraiya instructed, watching. Naruto shut his eyes tightly, wincing as the red light outlining him flickered, then bulged and began to grow out in a curl at his lower back. Naruto's small frame shuddered, fingers becoming longer and nails sharper, as the red glow reached to the back of his head, fanning out at the end. The iridescent outline intensified a few levels in brightness. In the dark he was being overwhelmed, enveloped in a dull red haze. It washed over the inside of him, making his head swim. His thoughts were becoming distant, like he was floating away from his body. His thoughts were getting more quiet, harder to make out. How long was this taking? Naruto had lost his sense of time as well as being.

_The morning was bright and cool with a breeze, but warm from the sun. Naruto fidgeted nervously, having shown up early to make sure he ran across the pearl-lavender eyed girl._

The haze paused, hesitating, wavering near the top of his mind but not quite covering it.

_His heart beat quickened. "I should just forget about this, run away. She doesn't even know what's inside me, what if she finds out? She'll have to eventually. I can't ever be with anyone," he faltered to himself mentally. Unfortunately, stopping his heart, the image of the indigo covered top belonging to the said teenage girl bobbed into sight._

In Naruto's head, the mind numbing red thinned, but was still present, still strong, still covering so much, threatening to take him away maybe forever.

_"Live your life in such a way that you won't regret it if you died the next moment." Jiraiya told him again as if he stood next to the nervous blonde. Naruto was frozen in place, until lost in her own thoughts, the dark haired girl was almost ontop of him already, smiling to herself with her eyes closed, and with her adorable, trademark rosey cheeks. Her head was upturned a bit, letting the sun radiate down on her happy face. She was hugging his orange jacket to herself and rubbing its arms against her folded arms. He hadn't even realized she was wearing his old jacket until just then._

"I.." Naruto opened his slitlike eyes, looking down at his hands, voice trembling. "I'm still..here. I didn't lose myself, Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled happily over at the man, voice thicker and deeper than normal. He smiled, folding his arms across his broad, scarred chest.

"It only gets more difficult, Naruto, but I'm happy we've made it to this next step."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) Marinated, barbequed pork.**

**(2) 'Good morning.'**


	18. Chp 18: Oh, Really?

I'm rather happy with the way the last chapter came out, especially concidering I had had my longest writer's block since starting this story.

Of note - it's been around seven or eight months since the start of the story by now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto had been mildly surprised and disappointed when he arrived at the scenic cliff to find it lacking a certain green haired, blue eyed woman. He turned to go, grumbling about being quite capable of being alone when he jolted in place, seeing an old friend in black and blue had been watching his back. The taller shinobi walked over slowly, with a numb expression on his half-hidden face. Across his chest were the strap ropes of two swords hanging in an 'x'. Their hilts showed from behind his back on either side of his head, tilted so the flat sides of the sheaths were against his back and the handles angled accordingly. The longer sword (handle at his left shoulder) was pushed at a further angle, jutting out at the side quite a bit towards the blade's end. His thick, plaid collared shirt was undone up to the collar. The loose shirt fluttered like a frumpy cape in the wind, the buttoned collar tugging at his thick neck as the young man settled himself to stand next to Naruto without a smile, looking over to the distant beauty. Underneath the over sized, open shirt was his slim figure, chest wrapped in white cloth strips just like before.

"Aniki..what's wrong?"

"Just remembering something painful and recent," he answered in an empty voice.

"What is it? And where'd you get those swords? They look like the samurai lady's who's always here," his younger friend pried. Shirasei tensed, closing his eyes while hunching his shoulders slightly and turned his head to the side. His eyes flickered under closed lids.

"I don't want to talk about it, Naruto!" he said quickly and angered, which was an odd contrast for his normal pace and mood of speech.

"Oh..okay..sorry." Naruto sighed. His friend relaxed and opened his eyes again, gazing out to the beautiful picture infront of them. After an uncomfortable pause, the silence was broken.

"How's your life been, Naruto? It's been a long time now." He still had the same hollow sound to him, even possibly sounding uninterested. It seemed like he was talking just to do something, to try to take his mind off of his painful memories. The blonde nin was almost the same height as him now, his arms and legs having continued to become more proportional to that of an adult's. His face had lost a little more of its roundness.

"It's been good. Especially this," Naruto grinned up at the wavey haired nin, holding out a pinky. The gesture and energy of the younger boy brought a faint smile to his friend.

"Oh, really? About damn time. You have to tell me all about it, ototo." Shirasei's lips tugged up at the corners slightly. A bit of life seemed to be coming back to the older shinobi, so as uncomfortable as it was for Naruto, he reminisced audibly, seating himself as his companion followed suit.

"Eh heh heh, well okay. It didn't start out too well.." Naruto began.

"Naruto, how about some ramen to celebrate your progress?" The masculine voice of Jiraiya inquired. Naruto smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, I have to wait for someone." Jiraiya made a surprised, irritated and curious face mixed all in one. Then he smiled and with a glint in his eye, and laughed once.

"Who is it, Naruto?" Jiraiya waited suspiciously.

"Eh heh heh, Hinata-chan. I asked her out to dinner this morning and gave her a flower, believe it.." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little flustered inside admitting it. Jiraiya gave a surprised, strangled sounding 'd-oooh-ho,' losing his composure for a moment. Then he grinned, stretching his red marks on his cheeks at Naruto and giving him the double thumbs-up of approval.

"Well, I won't let her catch you with an uncool, old geezer like myself. I wonder if Tsunade is free tonight.." Jiraiya excused himself, walking off down a darkened road. He paused after a handful of steps and turned, facing Naruto half-way. "You'd best prove to her you really are training under me however. I'll want to know **all** the **juicy** details, apprentice of mine." Jiraiya had a sparkle glint off once in his closest eye. The next thing he knew he was being chased by a screaming boy down the street who clearly wanted to hurt him.

Shortly afterwards, a more collected looking blonde nin was waiting where he had parted ways initially with the older man. Naruto now had a small paper bag with him this time. He was nervous, drumming his fingers against his thighs. Finally, a blushing Hinata slowly approached the boy, coming through the darkness of the night road, puncuated by the yellow circles of street lamp lighting. When she had come close enough, she stopped and the two stared at each other, a soft blush on Naruto's cheeks as well as a deeper shade on the young girl's.

"Good evening, Naruto-kun.." Hinata said breathlessly, hands held infront of her slowly heaving chest and under her open mouthed smile.

"H-hey Hinata-chan.." Naruto smiled nervously.

"Sorry I'm so late," she bowed her head with her hands folded in her lap. When she raised her head, her entire face was red. "I wanted to press**(1)** the flower you had given me earlier, Naruto-kun.." she drew off in her soft voice.

"Eh, it's okay, eh heh heh." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, where would you like to go? I'm sure ramen isn't very romantic," he speculated honestly.

"Ramen's just fine, Naruto-kun..if you enjoy it a lot, I know I would too.." she poked her fingers together while confessing. "You don't have to impress me with your wallet.." she told him.

"Well, if you're gonna make it so hard to argue then I guess ramen it is." Not that he hated the idea or anything. The two slowly found their way to Ichiraku's, Naruto wanting to hear all about how Hinata had been the last month or so since they had last seen each other. Naruto had beat around the bush to confront her for the sudden date, having waited until around a month later, running across the blue eyed samurai lady. Hinata had been steadily improving still, or so she felt, admitting with a happy flush. Team Kurenai had been completing quite a few B rank missions for some time now, and she felt she was becoming less of a hinderance and more of a focal point of the team. Naruto listened earnestly and happily, not wanting to tell her how his..perverted training..and red chakra control training was going or that they even existed. Shortly before they were done, Hinata decided she had done very well without stuttering all night, and was going to go for the gold.

She bit her plush lip, eyeing Naruto's dangling hand. _'Don't think,'_ she heard in her mind and then repeated to herself. Swallowing, the kunoichi began to reach over. She shut her eyes, hoping it would help her not lock up.

"Well, now that that's payed for, let me walk you home - .." Naruto had began to unseat himself to the side closest to Hinata.

Inside of Tsunade's office, the two laughed whole heartedly, a few empty sake bottles strewn about the mess of papers ontop of Tsunade's desk. Jiraiya's skin felt a strange, familiar, tingling sensation, jittering his arm muscles. The broad man dropped his cup, issuing a loud clink from the contact with the desk. Tsunade's laughter and buzz had sobered up and gone away instantaneously.

"Jiraiya, what's wrong? That look in your face.." She gazed up at her comrade, face full of worry. He slowly turned his gaze from the windows behind her to the beautiful, curvey woman infront of him.

Without any lack of seriousness in the tone of his masculine voice, Jiraiya stated with his brows knit, almost angrily to Tsunade, "Something sexy is about to happen - and I'm not there to watch."**(2) **She immediately frowned, and sighed.

"Oh, really?" she asked in an expasparated and disbelieving tone. _I thought the world was going to end from the way he reacted.._

Hinata felt the smooth sensation of muscle, not hard but present in a large volume as she closed her hand. It was shaped like a half-moon and clothed with the thin, light, plastic like texture of wind breaker. _This..this doesn't feel like Naruto-kun's hand at all.._ Hinata fluttered open her large, pearl like eyes. She gasped, pulling her hand away from a shocked and frozen Naruto who was standing partially bent over, having been in the process of unseating himself. He was gawking with his eyes wide to the point of hurt, and mouth loose at the flustered and tomato red Hinata.

"Hi..Hinata-chan!" He managed to sputter out. _Oh my god! What'd I do? What does he think of me now? Na..Naruto-kun!_ She had the same butt-touching hand covering her lips, her other small hand on her clamped up feeling chest, unable to breathe. He grinned at her, blushing himself a bit. "That..was pretty bold of you! Um, anyways we'd better get going." He started off without her, his face as red as her's.

They walked in awkward silence, Hinata a step or two behind Naruto, unable to look at each other. Despite the cool, dark, night air surrounding the teenagers, both had sheets of cold sweat blanketting their faces. Eventually, after perhaps too long, the two found themselves infront of the large, wooden doors leading into the Hyuuga complex. Naruto cleared his throat, as if it'd make them forget what happened earlier.

"U-uh..Hinata-chan I uh, I thought you'd like these for desert.." He held out the paper bag to her. Unable to meet those big, blue eyes, the smaller teenager took the bag and bowed, unable to say anything. She entered her home by pushing the door open with her bottom, still bowed, and shut it numbly. Once the door closed, Hinata quickly ran away, winding her way to her room. With a squeal, she flung herself on her bed and beat her pillow with her small fists as well as burying her face in it, kicking her little legs. The paper bag full of cinnamon rolls coated with senzai sat on her night-table. _Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry! I'm not a bad girl!**(3)** Now you must think.._

"..I can't believe I'm dating a pervert.." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Did she think I wouldn't notice her doing something so bold?" Naruto sighed, walking his way back to his apartment. "Well, not like it was a bad thing, believe it.."

When the blonde nin looked up from the grass, having finished telling that part of his story, he felt his uneasiness lift away at the sight of his now happy friend. His brooding mood had apparently been lifted, as he was smiling softly at the smaller boy.

"Mm is that how it went, huh? I'm glad you found something like that in your life." Shirasei turned his uncovered eye to over the cliff. "No one knows what the purpose to life is, but I'm happy you found what I feel is something that makes life worth living." It seemed the painful memories were forgotten, and Naruto was happy. "Have you gotten her anything for her birthday yet, kid? That's a real big thing for ladies."

"Huh? Yeah, actually I did. Her birthday was a little while ago**(4)**, so I thought I'd let her know I was aware." Naruto looked up at the mid-afternoon sky, begining another story.

Hinata had been invisible for a week. At least she had managed to magically stay hidden from the Jiraiya-in-training blonde, who sat perched up high, near the center of town.

"Yo, Naruto!" The youthful voice of Kiba reached the blonde nin's ear. He looked over as Kiba landed on all fours next to himself from a large bound, his dog Akamaru landing near him. Kiba had changed his outfit from the fur-lined coat he had used to always wear to a tighter fitting, black, leather jacket and similiarly black jeans. The once nearly hand-sized puppy was four or five times larger since the last time Naruto had been close to it (to rub the dog's belly and make a quick escape from Kiba's anti-peeping manuever). He had become monstrous in size. The said dog barked once gruffly in greeting.

"Oh hey Kiba, Akamaru." Naruto eyed the other boy. "What's up?"

"Not much. I heard you got a little special someone I might know, now?" Kiba needled, winking with his pinky near Naruto's face. The whiskers on Naruto's face became hidden under a light pink. "Haha, I thought so. But I'm happy for the both of you. You don't know how long Hinata's wanted this. Speaking of her, did you know it's her birthday in a few days?" Naruto blinked in shock.

"How many days until her birthday?"

"Eh. Let me see, her birthday's the 27th.." Kiba tried to do the math mentally. After half a minute, so did Naruto. After a few minutes, Akamaru growled angrily at the two dimwits and barked four times.

"Huh? Oh so it is Akamaru." Kiba said, looking down at the growing puppy. "Sorry, that Saturday/Sunday weird thing calenders do always hurts my head." The dog sighed, fluttering its loose lips.

"I wonder what I should get her.." Naruto thought out loud.

"Meh, I'm sure whatever you get her she'll love probably. I know she really liked those pastries - they're her favorite." The blonde nin grinned at his companion at the mention of his successful present. Kiba's narrow eyes narrowed more. "How'd you know?"

"Oh..just did what Ero-senin's been teaching me to do.." Kiba sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, really? I knew it. Just don't let me catch your attention stray from my teammate to other girls or I'm gonna get pissed, Naruto." Kiba patted the smaller nin on his shoulder, and Akamaru growled a short, menacing, but not mean natured warning. The two got up and left the shinobi to his own company again.

_What to get Hinata, what to get Hinata. Food's always nice but I mean, it can get old.._ Naruto sighed as he window shopped. _"..whatever you get her she'll love probably,"_ Kiba reminded him in his head. He looked down at himself, hands in his jacket pockets as he was wondering what to get. He stopped, brain pausing dramatically. _Kiba landed on all fours next to Naruto. He now wore a black, leather jacket and jeans matching in color._ Naruto looked down at his own jacket, different than when he had been a genin.

Hinata timidly opened the large, wooden door that served as the exit to the Hyuuga complex. Her favorite blonde crush beamed at her from the crack, holding a large package under one arm. "Hey Hinata-chan! Since you've been hiding out I decided to come deliver your birthday present instead of waiting to run into you!" She flushed, breathless.

"Na..Naruto-kun? You..you bought me a present?" She stammered out. The taller teenager grinned and nodded.

"Come on, open it! I wanna see how much you like it, Hinata-chan!" The girl had fallen back a bit into her shell since her accidental brushing of the behind belonging to the boy infront of her. She slowly, cautiously came outside and opened the package, blushing a great deal, not believing that Naruto had bought her a birthday present. She issued a soft gasp, as the smooth texture in her hands unfolded into a hooded jacket, similiar to her own trademark one. It was less baggy but larger, and had a similiar color on the sleeves and top. The front and cuffs however were a pale lavender like color that almost matched her eyes. Naruto had also bought a pair of tight fitting pants (for Christmas) that were like her current ones but again, larger for growth. They cut at her mid-calf and were indigo to match her hair.

"Na..Naruto-kun! I love these!" She managed to say after a stunned period. She hugged the blonde nin with her slender arms around his neck, who happily hugged back, trying to ignore the two large, soft resistances at his chest from her own. _Now is not the time to think like that damn it._

"Ah, I thought you might. I know how much I liked my old trademark jump suit I got the first semester I was enrolled in the academy." Naruto admitted, smiling at her. She blushed heavily, ducking into her shoulders for reasons only known to herself.

Naruto looked over to the older shinobi. "Mm.." he smiled gently, eyes full of thoughts as he gazed out into the evening sky. "I remember when I first became a jounin, I got an anonymous gift. It was the outfit you always see me wear. I really liked it. I think that was a good choice, ototo." Shirasei sighed, seemingly very happy with how things were turning out for the blonde nin. "You know the funny part was it was from Jazlyn, before I knew she liked me. I thought it was from Tameiya but that she was just too embarassed to admit it, since she was so competitive with me to the point that she had made me hospitolized for a month after our match." After that line his mood dropped though.

"Aniki," Naruto said reluctantly. "I have to go back, it's getting late." The older shinobi nodded and escorted Naruto to the final path that lead to Konoha silently. He had become lost in his own thoughts again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) According to Wikipedia this is one of her hobbies. The author is not quite sure what the act of pressing flowers is or does, but it seemed to be a method of preserving them.**

**(2) The author would like to apologize to X Darthmonkey X for using that Jiraiya idea. Just he read it in one of X Darthmonkey X's stories and it was so perfect for the character.**

**(3) But you still have Icha Icha Paradise..(thick arrow leading to her night stand's drawer.)**

**(4) According to the reference the author uses (link listed in my profile), Hinata's birthday is December 27th.**


	19. Chp 19: Karma's A Bitch

After staring at a blank page for twenty minutes, this came to me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto's life carried on in the positive manner it had been. To a point at least - his red chakra training had come to a halt when he almost killed Jiraiya (again) attempting a fourth tail. The blonde nin had again become hesitant about pushing his limits in this area since his life was not at risk whenever he did so. As the months went by, his missions became more difficult, almost always pairing him up with Kakashi, who always had his nose in one of Jiraiya's books. He saw Hinata, but not as much as he'd like being they were both receiving more and more missions being that they were both becoming more qualified for available, difficult missions. Their love was still young and cute, timid and precious. It was innocent and blooming, as love between two young lovers should be.

"Somehow I thought I'd find you here today, believe it." Naruto walked along the gentle stream to the beautiful cliff, approaching his older friend who had been standing a little slouched foreward, staring over the cliff listlessly. The blonde nin saw that he had the same look as the last time Naruto had been in his company, and almost nearly the same facial expression.

"Mm..? Yeah, well, it can't be helped. Did you want me to leave?" he doled out hollowly with an empty sigh.

"What? Why would I want that? Actually it's a great thing you're here dattebayo! I wanted to show you my first poem, believe it!" The man looked up at Naruto, into his eyes. Naruto had continued to grow each month, now reaching the top ends of the five feet range, threatening to hit six feet in a month or two if he continued the pace. His arms were finally done stretching to catch up to the rest of his body, as well as his legs, losing the sterotypical stubby look of a child. His hair while still clumpy, had lengthened a bit as well as his birthmarks stretching and thickening slightly. Unlike the smaller man, Naruto's muscles had grown in according to his height as well as he had aged. While he didn't look like he actively built his body, the blonde nin was definately bulkier than his black haired friend.

"Well, let's see it then," The shorter man sighed, but sounding almost imperceptably more alive. The two shinobi seated themselves on the grass, facing the edge of the cliff. Naruto fished around inside of his mostly black jacket, then pulled out his writing pad. He began to flip through it, turning countless filled pages. Shirasei blankly stared over the windswept tree tops below them.

"Ah, here it is aniki." He grinned and held it out for the brooding fellow **(1)**. Shirasei unhurriedly picked it up and read the half a page of poetry.

_**A crowd in the big city -**_

_**I was bumped on the shoulder by someone, **_

_**I am alone.**_

_**A vast grassy field -**_

_**Where the wind strongly blows, **_

_**I am alone.**_

_**This tear-filled visage, how can I face it?**_

_**Draw two circles end to end.**_

_**I feel a little more mature.**_

_**Before me an impenetrable barrier appears.**_

_**I feel the courage and power welling up from deep within me,**_

_**Enough to break through the wall.**_

_**Maybe because of tenderness...**_

_**I am glanced at by the toughest of foes,**_

_**Thank you very much!**_

By the end of the poem, the older shinobi was smiling softly. He set down the pad in his lap and took out his own pen.

Before writing though, he turned to Naruto and told him, "Naruto, I'm very happy you've found something like this within yourself." The blonde nin rubbed the back of his head, grinning. "I'm really surprised at your ability, it looks like you're a natural - like myself. Your penmenship's gotten a lot neater." The boy chuckled appreciatively. "Anyways, let me give you this sister poem, it came to me as I read this."

The young man began to write quietly, Naruto watching the beautiful nature infront of him as he waited. For some reason he didn't feel bored just sitting there, not tapping his boundless energy. When Shirasei was finished, the whiskered nin took the proffered writing pad.**(2)**

_**Going in a crowd in a faceless town, **_

_**I need to feel the touch of a friend.**_

_**In the country side, I wander far and wide -**_

_**The isolation gets me again.**_

_**I don't know where to go, when I feel like crying, all night.**_

_**It's time to open myself to something new.**_

_**I want to stop, and grow up like you.**_

_**Then suddenly my power and confidence start swelling up - magically erupt.**_

_**And it's all because the kindness that I feel,**_

_**From people I don't even know.**_

_**Then suddenly my intuition and wisdom grow, and then I know -**_

_**That most of all I sense compassion through**_

_**To strangers wherever I go.**_

_**Thank you for waking me up!**_

Naruto blinked. 'Wow, it's so similiar. It's like the same person wrote it, yet it's a lot different."

"Mm, there's some differences definately. I liked this part in particular from your's," Shirasei poked the two lines from Naruto's poem that said, **'Draw two circles end to end. I feel a little more mature,'** with the butt of his pen. "Is that what I think it is?" he mused at the blonde nin.**(3)**

"Eh heh heh, yep! It really is, believe it!" Naruto confessed, rubbing the back of his head. The already smiling, older nin increased his gentle, happy look.

"So you see, there's more to life than drowning yourself in jutsu. I guess I didn't need to see more proof of you knowing that though, since you've already begun to dip into love," Shirasei's calm, deep voice said, more to himself than to the boy next to him. Naruto sighed contently. After a long silence, though, Naruto wanted to address something that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Aniki..whatever happened to your friend Tameiya?" As Naruto had expected, the thought soured his companion immediately, who winced as though struck. Closing his eyes and grimacing to himself even more, Shirasei shook slightly for a while.

After another equally long pause, Shirasei opened his moistened dark eyes. "She used to come here all the time. Before we began our Chuunin Exams, I gave her a present for good luck - a paper fan that said 'best friend' as we stood on this cliff. I think she came here often after she left Hidden Rain.." Shirasei sighed, pained. The blonde nin listened raptly as his older friend continued.

The day was windier, cooler, less cloudy. The back of a blood red gi sat, ruffling in the rough wind, the tied tuft of green hair above it being tugged with each gust. The small body sat still, facing over the edge of the cliff. Tameiya reached over, placing her small right hand on the top of her wood sheath at her hip, turning her head over her less clothed shoulder with her whole body tense. In one motion, she hopped to her geta wearing feet while turning, landing in a way that faced her towards the person who had been approaching, who still was. She hunched her shoulders a bit more, increasing the pressure her thumb was putting on the bottom of her sword's hilt, straining it against its confines. Her free hand hovered at her small, slim belly, open and ready to grab the hilt.

Shirasei slowly walked up until he was within ten feet of the small woman, standing upright. His collared shirt was buttoned all the way, his hands were in his pants pockets. "I thought I'd find you here someday if I kept coming enough," he stated in his deep voice. He stared down at her, body unmoving but the loose parts of his clothes fluttering wildly. His hair pulled away from his head and face, feebly reaching out for her but unable to reach less than a quarter of the distance.

"What do you want with me?" Tameiya's voice was gentle, soothing like a singer's who was not using her talent. Her intense, half-closed blue eyes pierced into the man infront of her, searching the soul of him through his own dark brown, almost black looking eyes. Her thick gi ruffled loudly, contrasting the silence of the two ninja.

"Will you return to Hidden Rain with me?"

"No. Are you going to try to slay me now?" There was a long pause as Tameiya stared at the taller man, who expressionlessly returned the stare. Their silence was only masked by the sound of their clothes being pulled in the wind, the biting voice of wind tearing at their ears.

"No. I can't raise my hand to you, I don't have it in me anymore. I care too much," he admitted. Tameiya closed her electric eyes, and straightened herself, shuddering in the wind but not from it. She removed her small hand from her weapon, letting it hang limply at the front of her thigh.

"I thought you were going to say something like that, you damn fool... Even after everything I said and did to you.." She shuddered more violently, her darkly red lips shuddering more so than the rest of her body.

"Forgiveness is part of being a human."

Tameiya tensed a bit more despite his tone. She gave a small, bitter-sweet smile that twitched eventually into a similiar, small grin. "Why do you always say things like that, Shirasei?"

"I'm a bit of a philosopher and poet. You know that."

"So you always try to make me fall in love with you even more..?" She said full of emotion, eyes still closed. _Tameiya's heart broke into a million pieces as she spied through the crack of her best friend's sliding door. Infront of her stunningly vivid eye, Shirasei's bared body was tangled in the covers of his bed on the cold ground, pressed and writhing against a smaller, curley haired brunette's. Their eyes stayed nearly closed while they lost themselves further and further in their passion. She was frozen, unable even to tremble from the pain inside of her. She couldn't get up and leave, she didn't want to watch this. Not anymore! But she couldn't move.._

"Not so much anymore," he said softly. "It's just how I am now, forgive me."

The small woman turned her head to the side with a jerk. "I could, but even then -" with a gasp she shot her eyes open and in one motion, pushed the taller man over with her bare hands. Shirasei fell flat on his back as two glistening eclipses crashed at their apexes above him, showering him with yellow-white sparks. Only a moment afterwards, Tameiya was a blur in the air, arcing repeatedly through the trees.

The pained singing of clashing blades rang out randomly through the mass of wood. Shirasei watched from the ground, not being able to tell what was really going on. He guessed the smaller blur was his friend, but he couldn't distinguish much other than it was smaller and lighter than the other mass. After countless notes from the unhappy metals, Tameiya slid a long distance along the ground, her back to the laying man while she hunched over foreward with her sword hand out to keep it clear for another stroke if need be. She stopped, reaching the end of the dried dirt and hitting the edge of the grass.

After the trails of earthy smoke cleared, across from them they saw a young boy. He was maybe Naruto's age, and his hair was black, and his eyes were red but with three dots around the shrunken pupil. His hair style looked like a wet and harrassed bird. His gi was a dark grey, and very wide and open with baggier sleeves than Tameiya's. Near the right shoulder was an emblazoned image of a white fan hugged by an arc of red at its papered end. His sword was around the same length as the shorter katana Tameiya wielded, normally kept at her hip. The teenager's blade was thick and black. In an arrogant gesture, he placed his hands on his hips, gazing down at the woman.

"You're better than I've heard. It's hard to surprise me," he said in a confident voice. "I'm glad I didn't come out here to be disappointed, Tameiya Ashura."

"What do you want little boy?" she pressed quickly, a hint of edginess and anger at being interrupted without warning.

"To duel you to the death - I thought that was fairly obvious. You're not the type who became as strong as you are from mind numbing repetition, are you? Those kinds of people bore me," he drawled out. Shirasei ground his teeth. This guy was beyond obnoxious.

"I don't want to fight, not this moment. Go whack some trees or whatever kids your age do. I'm trying to have an important conversation you brat!" she leeked venomously at him with her eyes nearly closed as she glowered at him. It only caused an amused gesture and smirk, acompanied by an equally aggravating 'heh.'

"Sorry, I didn't come out here to be disappointed, remember?" And the figure became hard to follow for Shirasei again.

"Che, kids these days, dying so damn young.." Tameiya flickered away in a leap, agitated.

Shirasei didn't know how much longer they struggled, how many more times their swords cried out in pain from being abused, how tired the two fighters became. It seemed a long time to him as he layed there, unable to do more than guess what was happening. However, the view of Tameiya sprawled out in the air, waiting for an attack as she slowly flew backwards appeared to the man. Tameiya was rapidly performing what must've been around twenty seals with her free hand. The young, teenage boy appeared around thirty feet from her, doing the same as he stood on the ground. At first it looked like he was repeating her seals, but Shirasei managed to catch variations between the two a few times.

"Chidori Nagashi**(4)**!" He threw himself in an arc at the slowly falling woman, chakra crackling about himself like elecricity until it focused from his body to his blade. His sword arm was readied to strike, held near his waist.

"Shinkou Gesshoku**(5)**!" Tameiya said sternly as she slammed the blade into its wooden sheath at her side, and then immediately popped it with her thumb, waiting for the speeding body to close the distance. They were streaks of crimson and dark grey, but after it had happened, Shirasei was able to compute what happened in his head.

The youth threw his weight behind a two-handed thrust at Tameiya's heart. The small woman drew her sword, her image becoming a blood red blur. She moved her hand to infront of her sternum, putting her blade in a fan like, spinning motion from sheath to her shoulder, counter-clockwise. The blades sung one long, mournful note with a trail of sparks as the black blade ran against the steel-white one. It continued along its path. _The scruffy, bulky man's eyes stretched open to the point of pain. He was moving foreward as she ducked under his free arm to shoot past him while turning her back on him. As the world rotated around her, as the distance between the two grew, she heard the distinctive sound of a body parted in half. Its contents emptied unceremoniously. It was familiar and expected. She had experienced this sensation, memory, event countless times before._

A moment later the dark blade embedded itself up to the hilt into the woman's small chest. She gasped, shocked, crimson rain falling from the front center and mid back of her torso. An instant later, she grit her teeth. Having lost her grip from the mortal strike, her sword was begining to flail in the air but she shot her right hand from her sheath and grabbed it. A dark red blur of light that looked like a new moon on its side, parallel to the ground cut through the air, level with the boy's neck. He spun away with his momentum, jerking Tameiya to the side he was going a bit, the dark blade pulling out of her. She coughed, wide eyed as crimson shot out from between her plush lips. Her small body shot at a sharp angle into the dry dirt, the boy completing his large arc after they separated at the apex and landing gracefully on his feet. Her small body rolled roughly against the ground, stirring up much dirt and leaving an uneven and unstraight trail of dark splotches.

Though he should've been cocky and smirking, he had his teeth clamped, eyes wide in panic. Half an inch in the side of his neck suddenly parted, spraying a thin mist of pink mist into the air before Sasuke slapped his free hand over the wound. The red substance flowed out over the sides of his fingers in spurts that matched a racing heart. Grimacing in pain, the boy disappeared into the trees. Shirasei had barely noticed as he ran over to his fallen friend.

"Before she passed away in my arms, Tameiya bestowed these two swords upon me among other things. I'll always have this large part of me missing, here," he said, throat dully sore from tensing with emotion. He motioned to his heart. "Even after I return the murder, it'll never be replaced. I'll never hear her sweet voice again, see her burning soul through her vivid blue eyes, feel her calming company as she stands next to me again. I come here often because it's the last time I saw my best friend. She had wanted to atone for everything she'd done in the past, hating herself for the way she had acted in her earlier years, regretting so much. She never had a second chance," Shirasei stated morbidly.

Naruto sat in silence, shocked. _S..Sasuke did that? I never thought of him as evil. He killed the samurai lady just for fun? What's wrong with him?_

"Well, isn't this an ironic, lucky little reunion we have going on here," drawled out an arrogant teenage boy's voice. The two seated nins got to their feet and faced the speaker. "And I thought I was going to have to go through the trouble of infiltrating Konoha to kill you, Naruto." Sasuke grinned slighty with his arms folded over his nearly-bared chest. His loose gi jacket was wide at the middle, the "V" going all the way down to the belt. It was a light color. He wore black pants of the same material, with his dark sword sheathed at an angle behind the small of his back, wedged between a thick, light purple rope that was bowtied like a sash.

"The only person who's going to die here is you," Shirasei said bluntly and without much emotion, despite a jerky movement of his head.

"By that blonde dumbass next to you? I doubt that. And by you, after you were laying there useless the last time I saw you? I give that even less of a chance," he let out calmly.

"You're an eyesore and a waste of space." Shirasei removed the smaller sword from his shoulder, holding the sheath in his right hand. He hovered his left hand near the handle, placing it near his hip much like how Tameiya had always placed the sword.

Sasuke's eyes widened invulentarily for a moment, and quickly sharpened. He immediately silenced himself and prepared a stance, putting his right hand near the jutting handle of his dark blade. Shirasei changed his footing and moved the sheath infront of him, across his left thigh. Sasuke changed his position as well after Shirasei had settled himself. The older nin again changed the position of his legs and arms slowly, putting the sword straight out and to the side, handle facing in at shoulder level, feet apart at shoulder level. Sasuke frowned, turning his side to the man and changing his feet a bit. The man hunched over a little, tilting his left shoulder down and facing it at the teenager. He layed the smooth, wooden sheath across his shoulder blade and holding his hand a few inches from the handle. Sasuke returned to his original position, growing more restless. Shirasei smiled slightly, then after taking one step, became a blue-black blur to the blonde nin, Sasuke performing the same action.

The older man drew the sword out, spinning it in a fanlike motion from the sheath at Sasuke who did a single spin while closing the distance to attempt a drawing slash at the man's back. Shirasei turned into Sasuke a bit, and a hollow 'thock' issued from the two as the black blade of the teenager cut into the long sheath that almost ran the entire length of the older man's back. The teenager gave a startled look as the steel-white tip of his enemy dug into his shoulder an inch, before the two separated. A splash of red leeked out and fell to the dry dirt.

"Aniki, you can't fight with him! I need to bring him back to Konoha, just like how you needed to bring samurai lady back to Rain! Stop fighting and let me talk to him!" Shirasei stood near Naruto with his back to the blonde, glaring intensely at the other teenager with his exposed eye.

Sasuke glared back just as strongly, feeling with his free hand how bad the damage was. After a few moments, Shirasei told Naruto while still facing his opponent, "Yaiyaiya**(6)**."

Naruto reacted as though struck. Then clenched his teeth then shouted at his closer friend, "What do you mean by that! You understand how much it hurts to have a lost friend! Sasuke was like my brother to me before I met you!" None of the words seemed to affect the older shinobi though, who kept staring silently at Sasuke.

"Urusei! I already told you before that I'm through playing around with your silly village. I like it at Sound better. I've made it a lot closer to avenging my clan with Orochimaru than when I was lounging about with you stupid kids," Sasuke bit at Naruto.

"You heard him - he's not coming back. He dies. Karma's a bitch, kid." Shirasei began to rapidly close the distance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) This is the opening song to Yuyu Hakusho, a favorite anime and manga of the author. One of the few animes whose opening song the author actually enjoys (including the American version, bonus points). The translation is not necessarily very accurate.**

**(2) This is the American version of Yuyu Hakusho's opening song.**

**(3) Yes, they're referring to the very first writing lesson Shirasei gave Naruto. However, the actual series of Yuyu Hakusho is probably referring to taking high school exams (most of the main characters are in high school). When someone gives a particularly good answer to a question on a test, the teacher puts two circles end to end near the answer.**

**(4) 'Thousand Birds Current'**

**(5) 'Crimson Eclipse'**

**(6) "I refuse." Not sure if the spelling is right.**


	20. Chp 20: Surprise, Surprise

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the two battled, sparks and heart-tearing notes issuing from their crossing blades. The words of a new poem came to Naruto**(1)** steadily.

**Strong like the edge of a samurai sword, the metal blade cut through flesh and bone.**

The two combatants managed to strike each other's upper arms, splashing red on the dirt they were struggling over.

**Though my mind's at peace, the world out of order.**

Shirasei exploded from a low-crouched position, sword held diagonally across his chest. Two other bodies looking exactly the same shot out at fourty-five degree angles, all three Shiraseis having a trail of mirror images fading behind them. Sasuke readied himself as one approached him dead on, the other two towards the teenager's flanks.

**Missing the inner heat, life gets colder.**

In a single side-long slash, Sasuke stroked his dark blade across all three of the same looking man. The two flanking trails of people flickered and disappeared, while the one directly infront of Sasuke gave a solid, woody grating noise, puffing into a chopped log with a clean gash along the side facing the stationary boy.

**Oh yes, I have to find my path.**

The steel-white tip of Shirasei's blade flashed, flahed down the top of Sasuke's head through his hair, letting some sparesly float in the air. The younger nin managed to duck through most of the strike by bowing his head foreward, having it only graze the top of his head while he hopped back in a reverse lunge while rapidly performing eight or nine hand-seals infront of his chest. Shirasei mimicked the reverse lunge, suddenly pausing over the untouched stream, causing a spray to shoot out at his heels as he stood on the reflective liquid surface.

**No less walk on earth, water and fire.**

"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!**(2)**" Sasuke's chest swelled up in a painfull looking manner as he arced his back, clenching his fists before he spat out a ball of fire the size of a boulder at the black and blue clad shinobi.

"Tcht, parlor tricks are good enough for you." The older nin spun to face away from the teenager, sweeping out his leg as he lowered himself to the clear surface.

**The elements compose a magnum opus.**

A large sheet of glistening liquid rushed the incoming source of heat, and enveloped it, instantly flooding the air with sticky, blinding steam and an ear piercing hiss.

**My modus operandi is amalgum steel packed tight in micro chip on my armor as a sign of all-pro.**

The black and blue clad nin burst from the cloud of steam, almost in Sasuke's face. He gave a quick, startled upward slash at which the older nin turned his back to it and it again, bit through the long wood stick hanging on his back, exposing the contrasting colors of a blade inside the sheath, through the now missing chunk of the wooden tube.

**The ultimate reward is I'm not a ward.**

Shirasei flashed out his white steel with a flick of the wrist as the two passed from Sasuke's hasty stroke, cutting along the inside of the teenager's free forearm, moving away from Sasuke's dark blade.

**At odds with the times of wars with no lords, a Freelancer.**

The two slid backwards, turning as they slowed down to face each other.

**A battle cry of a hawk make a dove fly and a tear dry.**

With a scream, Sasuke flung himself at the older shinobi. His opponent followed the action silently, holding his sword in his left hand instead of his right as Sasuke did. It looked almost like they were running straight at a mirror to the blonde nin.

**Wonder why lone wolf don't run with The Clan? **

They crossed blades at their chest level, sparks showering, blades moaning their high pitched distress. The two had the most intense looks of hatred as their eyes were steadily locked. Their contrasting blades shook as they leaned towards each other more, hunching over foreward, grinding and showing their teeth to the other.

**Only trust instincts and we go with The Plan.**

They made a second stroke at each other, before leaping backwards, causing another shower of white-yellow sparks to cascade to their feet, their swords crying shakily in pain.

**Some days, some nights,**

Shirasei leapt as a flickering blur in an arc, flying down at Sasuke. The two made quick strokes, missing each other because they were avoiding each other's bite.

**Some live, some die,**

The white steel tip of Shirasei's blade ran across Sasuke's back, letting out a small line of bright red. A bright line of blood appeared as part of the side of Shirasei's cape-like shirt parted underneath his sword wielding arm.

**In the way of The Samurai(3).**

The two assumed the same position, putting their swords upright in both hands near their chest and shoulder wielding the blade. Shirasei favored his left shoulder while Sasuke favored his right. It was as if a mirror was gazing into itself.

**Some fight, some bleed.**

The wounds of the two shinobi oozed crimson slowly, spreading dull, dark, damp discoloration to the surrounding cloth.

**Sun up to sun down.**

"Shouken Kage!" Shirasei barked, like a demand. A blanket of darkness enfolded a cube shape over the two, blocking them from view from the blonde spectator.

**The sons of a battle cry.**

The two swordsmen's sharp, long, shrill kiai rang out from underneath the darkness as their flurry of quick foot steps fluttered at each other.

**Some days, some nights.**

The sparks glittered in the darkness, briefly illuminating the two as they crossed blades diagonally infront of eachother's chests before being wrapped in perfect dark again.

**Some live, some die,**

Naruto heard the sound of flesh and cloth ripping, along with Shirasei's short, startled yelp of pain.

**In the name of The Samurai.**

The darkness melted away, Shirasei wincing as he clutched a large gash across one of his thighs, hunched over to do so with his free right hand. Sasuke looked winded and determined across the distance at his opponent.

**Some fight, some bleed.**

Their wounds were still letting out more red ooze. Their chests moved from deep breaths, their bodies shaking slightly from punctuated strain.

**Sun up to sun down.**

Sasuke leapt and as he came plummetting down at his opponent, slashed out at his waist level, angling the dark blade to between his spread and bent knees, towards the man's upper chest.

**The sons of a battle cry.**

Shirasei held his sword so it was pointing straight down when he was a moment away from death, causing the blades to sing mournfully again, sparks briefly lighting the air.

**Battle cry -**

He swiped awkwardly from the position at Sasuke's neck, but the youth managed to turn away and spin as his momentum carried him past the older nin. When he stopped sliding, his the trails of dust clinging to the air, he grunted at the other shinobi.

"You're worse than your lady friend," he needled with an amused smirk on his lips, the eye closer to the taught cheek nearly shut.

"Forgive me - my first time using a sword," Shirasei bit back. Sasuke reacted as though struck, surprised. Then the youth gritted his teeth and began to perform a long series of hand seals. _That jutsu again..Tameiya wasn't able to redirect it.._Shirasei began his own string of hand seals. Naruto looked between the two, distressed.

"Chidori Nagashi," Sasuke declared, gripping the dark sword with both hands, energy crackling around him and focusing into the black blade held at the side of his waist.

"Oni Shikon Ittou**(4)**," the man returned, putting his free hand underneath the occupied one on the handle, bending his arms and holding the katana above his head at an reverse downward angle towards the back of his left shoulder blade. The two leapt at each other, approaching at the apex of their jumps. Shirasei was too slow. He jerked when his face showed that he realized this, making Sasuke's plunge hit the top of his chest, between the shoulder and neck, below the collar bone. The teenager's strike had clearly been meant for the young man's heart. The older nin ground his teeth and almost shut his eyes, his timeless face wrinkling in pain, grabbing the blade to feebly attempt to stop it with his right hand. He began to sink from his arc.

Sasuke's face lightened from the disappearing pain, smirking arrogantly as he prepared to drag the blade through the compact torso of his opponent. **Puff**..his face instantly sobered up in shock as he saw he had stabbed a chopped tree log amist thick, parting clouds. In a cold sweat, he quickly looked around for his assailant, but found he hadn't needed to. Right behind the clearing smoke was the black and blue clad shinobi, following Sasuke's decent perfectly, maintaining distance.

"Kinjutsu: Kourei**(5)**.." The newly revealed shinobi unsheathed his longer sword with his right hand, and in a mesmerizing manner, rotated both swords, tips pointing in the direction of Sasuke. The steel white blades melted into disorientatingly bright half-spheres. Sasuke quickly pulled his sword straight out of the log, which dropped promptly to the ground. Sasuke threw a hasty slash between the two sphere looking blurs that were the swords. Shirasei flickered immediately and disappeared a few moments afterwards.

"Huh?" Sasuke gasped, then gave a strangled cry of pain as his body was forced to arch, a steel white tip entwined with stubborn tendrils of dark red blood burst out from the center of the teenager's chest, pushing through until the worn down man stopped it bodily, running his shoulder into the teenager's back. Sasuke dropped his dark sword, eyes wide in horror. They dropped, and as they reached the ground, Shirasei removed the blade from the teenager, kicking him at the ground to help speed up the process. After a heavy 'thud,' the teenager lay face down, a pool of dark earth growing underneath his torso.

"I thought Uchiha eyes were supposed to be extremely keen on genjutsu," Shirasei said. He then hunched over a bit, wincing as he coughed wheezily. He jerked his head to the side and spat, a mixture of spittle and red substance laying on the ground.

"H..how.." the shocked teenager managed out the strained, hoarse whisper. His fingers tightened, furrowing the dirt underneath them.

"Ahou. Look at me." Sasuke struggled his eyes as he shook, unable to move the rest of his body the way he wanted to. They widened even more.

"That log you stabbed was me. I did a transformation jutsu you fucking moron." Shirasei wheezed, then coughed painfully a few more times. "What you saw after the clouds disappated was an illusion, a bluff. I don't have any strange jutsu with such a weird name."

"B..but you..on the bingo book..your genjutsu is only Chuunin level..you'd risk..?" Sasuke managed to stammer out as the ground underneath him continued to fan out a darkend patch. He trembled, unable to finish his question.

"The genjutsu I used on you at the end was _Academy_ level. I guess you were just too fucking full of yourself to ever imagine I'd use genjutsu if my skill was so low while facing an Uchiha of all things. But yes, every stat you saw in the bingo book was probably below what you experienced." Shirasei wheezed, coughed, and spat more blood with a jerk of his head. "From the begining I cheated." Sasuke's eyes widened again. "Don't you remember how we started out? We kept fidgetting for a superior starting stance. How would I know something like that if I've never -.." Shirasei coughed, tensing. "..The sword on my back that I didn't draw isn't just for show. Tameiya named it her Oboenagi**(6)**. I don't know how she made it, so it's one of a kind. It's a chakra wave pattern absorbing memory stick. It can be used to fight with, but that's not its purpose. I had all of Tameiya's memories fighting you and such, didn't you think it was strange that you didn't kill me the very first clash we had?"

Sasuke trembled in rage and futility, turning his gaze to the dirt. He shook in anger. "And..all this time..I thought you were weaker.." he growled at himself, in frustration.

"You were right, kid." Shirasei wiped some blood from his own lips with the back of his hand. "I'm not as fast or experienced as her, but in the particular situation of fighting you, yourself, I had the knowledge of her previous fight. While I couldn't move as fast as her, I could reflexively do whatever she had engraved through experience because of the Oboenagi. I fight with a cleared mind, working off of instinct. The Oboenagi is perfect for someone like me. I knew that I couldn't turn away your one mortal strike, and I knew I wasn't fast enough to dodge it. I set you up." He winced in pain, coughed then spat before he continued. "I took the hit and jerked to prevent the attack from being fatal on the spot, and took advantage of your weapon being lodged while you were distracted to form the handseal with my sword hand." Shirasei tensed, trying not to cough, then went over to the dark sword laying on the dirt.

"..are you going to use my Kusanagi**(7)** on me..?" Sasuke said hollowly, slowly, painfully, eyes already glazing.

"Yeah, I think that's fairly poetic. You were bent on revenge your whole life?"

"..yes.." Sasuke was finding it hard to say more than a few syllables.

"Personally, I'm not finding it very rewarding. You should've lived like Naruto - loved, found peace, found beauty. Would've done everyone good but here you are, dying. Good bye, you useless fool." Shirasei jammed the blade into the sprawled teenager's neck, who choked for a moment, then lay still. The ground continued to soaken underneath the corpse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) This is the opening song to Samurai Champloo.**

**(2) 'Great Fireball Attack' or some hoo haw.**

**(3) In reference to the fight at hand, 'samurai' would simply be 'warrior,' as opposed to the actual follower of bushido or the way of the idealistic samurai warrior.**

**(4) 'Demon Fang Stroke.'**

**(5) '(heartfelt) thanks'**

**(6) 'Memory Cutter.'**

**(7) 'Grass Cutter.'**


	21. Chp 21: It Can't Rain Every Day

Uh..I don't own Naruto or its characters. Just felt like patronizing the needless act.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shirasei wheezed painfully again, giving the semi-wet, hacking cough. The taller nin had numbly approached the two, looking at the still body of his once best friend, and the damaged body of his other good friend. The look on Shirasei's face was of extreme contempt. Almost disrespectfully, the older nin cleaned his sword on the back of Sasuke's gi jacket, then holding the sheath over his shoulder and behind his head, placed his sword back into its container. After he did so, he placed the rope strap over one of his shoulders again, returning it to its original position. Naruto stared blankly at the lifeless body infront of him.

"I..I was supposed to bring him..back.." He said without thinking.

"Things don't always work out the way you want them to. But," Shirasei knelt, slowly because of the pain of his wounds (in particular his chest). The older nin removed the dark blade, Kusanagi from the teenager's neck and cleaned it similiarly as he had his own, then put it in its sheath and removed the sword altogether from Sasuke. "As self centered and immature as this kid was, I'm sure he would've wanted you to have this." Shirasei stood up, grimacing in pain as he held out the blade to Naruto, sideways at his chest so he could see the entire thing. Naruto slowly took the heavy object in his two up turned palms. He couldn't really think, and his body just placed the sword over his shoulder like how Shirasei had placed his own.

The black and blue clad shinobi fell to a fit of coughs, staggering to one knee. Naruto woke up with a cold sweat and placed one of his longer, heavier arms across his friend's back, his shoulder underneath the smaller man's. "Aniki.." he said, not sure of what he was going to say to his friend.

"Thank you, Naruto." Shirasei had paled a bit, his face blanketted in cold sweat. The two began their slow pace back towards Konoha, Shirasei's breathing labored and slightly wet sounding inside of his thick neck. "heh.." He said without much humor. Naruto turned to him. "It's a good thing I read that poem of your's. When I was faced with.." Shirasei coughed violently, "..that chido-whatever..I didn't know what to do. Then I remembered your poem, _'how can I face this tear-filled visage? Draw two circles end to end..' _and did it with my illusion. If my illusion wasn't as strange as it was, my bluff would've failed.." he admitted, smiling weakly at Naruto who only managed a small nod in return.

"I still can't believe he's..dead." Naruto numbly thought out loud after a long time.

"Death is a natural part of life that everyone experiences, Naruto. If you aren't ready for it, it leaps at you with blinding speed. That's why - .." the man wheezed painfully and coughed a couple of times, then spat sourly to the side. "..I tried to show you to enjoy life, not just think about being a strong nin like the boy who just died. I'm sure there are about a million regrets he has.." Shirasei coughed again in his throat, mouth closed and trembling. "..whereas you, I'm sure there'd be only a few, maybe none at all." He smiled weakly at his taller friend.

"I..I see. Thank you, a lot, aniki. Believe it." Naruto said soberly. His mind wandered to Sakura though. When he had spoken to her about Sasuke needing to make up his own mind to return, she had smiled painfully and cried, but admitted that it was true. That's a little different than the said person dying though.. They continued on their way in silence, only broken by the sound of Shirasei's dragging feet from incomplete steps, and his wheezing and coughing, punctuated occasionally by a spit. Naruto was walking as if in a dream, hardly aware of the weight on his shoulder, or the trembling body contacting his. Shirasei probably wasn't thinking much due to pain and exhaustion.

The trees above and behind the two travelers rustled noisily, but there was no wind. It continued on a path until it was above them, then ahead of them, then stopped as two figures dropped quickly from the foilage, stood and waited. They must've been in a hurry or not very talented to have not hidden their presence like that. Shirasei struggled to look up from the support of Naruto, who was already looking ahead. He stopped, heart racing.

"I can't believe you managed to kill my younger brother," Itachi's voice was similiar to the teenage boy who had just died, but more mature, a bit deeper, definately more emotionless.

"Huh, it's not a good thing to surprise Itachi, you know," remarked the far taller, broader Kisame. He glared down at the two from underneath his slashed headband, a couple dozen feet away. The two Akatsuki's dark cloaks tugged in a light breeze.

"I think it's time we collected one of our jinchuuriki**(1)** before he matures too much, Kisame." Itachi narrowed his eyes over his sharp cheekbones. Kisame blinked at his partner incredulously, but turned and faced the two infront of him without a second thought after the initial surprise. Kisame respected and trusted Itachi's judgement and poise.

"As you will. You want me to take off his arms and legs like I said I would last time?" Itachi stared at the two, and gave an noncommittal shrug. This only caused Kisame to grin a shark like look of evil, reaching over his shoulder to remove the giant, paddle like Samehade. The huge blade must've been two to two and a half feet in width, and five and a half to six feet in length. The tall shinobi had to carry it angled across his back when it was not in use.

"You really think I'm just some helpess kid, dattebayo.." Naruto gently removed his support from his friend, letting him kneel down lopsided on the road. Naruto said softly, "I won't let you die here, aniki," before straightening himself and glaring at the giant man.

"Yes, you're a helpless child," Itachi commented unexpectedly. "You may have slain Sasuke, which was a disappointment to me, but I could've done it myself without any effort at any given time." His eye-long bangs tugged in the gentle breeze.

"I hate people who are as full of themselves as you!" Naruto screamed, hunching over and growling from the depths of within him, his muscles burning and straining. His fingers became more enlongated, the nails sliding out an inch or two and pointing into claws. The whisker birthmarks on the teenage boy stretched slightly and widened, becoming more pronounced. Naruto's eyes shrunk in height, but lengthened in width to mirror an animal's more, as his pupils became slitlike and red. The bags underneath his eyes grew a natural black shading. He groaned, straining more, clenching his eyes shut. Around him grew a faint red glow, the top protruding twice, angled, like a small mammal's but proportional to the boy's size. At his tailbone, the light wavered then pushed out to furl at the end, near his head. The aura around the struggling boy flickered, then intensified a few levels in brightness. Again, the light pushed out next to the other protrusion at his lower back, and again the light brightened. The phenomenom occurred one more time before Naruto opened his primal eyes, trembling as he faced the two from rage and strength.

Naruto let loose a feral growl, hardly conceivable of a boy his age. He bent his knees more, readying to leap at the large, fish looking man.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing?" Shirasei managed to bark, a thin, dark red trail of liquid sliding out from the corner of his lips to his chin. The blonde nin blinked, then looked over startled at his friend.

"Are you suicidal? You need to use at least seven or eight tails!" His friend gripped the dirt beneath him in consternation, not believing the way Naruto was underestimating his opponent. "Akatsuki already has three jinchuuriki! That means best case scenario they're still capable of handling a three-tailed bijuu! Your over confidence is going to get yourself killed!"

Itachi turned his gaze to the wounded man, interested. _Naruto isn't the type to hold back.._Kisame scoffed. "You really think I'm as weak as Deidara or something? Let me teach you a lesson, kid." Naruto blinked, the man was towering about the semi-squatting teenager. Naruto gave a surprised start, readying himself but not sure of what to do. As the giant, white-wrapped blade came crashing down to him, both fighters started in shock. Bloodied teeth grinding, Shirasei stood stooped infront of Naruto, his left hand on the hilt of the closest sword - the long Oboenagi, his right behind him and bracing it over his back to catch the blow of the giant weapon across its sheathed blade. The smaller man groaned loudly in pain, managing to stop the strike. Kisame glared down at him with his sanpaku**(2)** eyes, using his strength and leverage to continue to grind down on the smaller man's back and on his shoulder, near his neck. Shirasei's face became more strained and desparate looking as he wavered under Kisame's might, pain moving like a heat wave through the area of his body that contacted the unwieldly looking Samehade. The much smaller man's knees wobbled, threatening to buckle and drop him to the dirt.

Naruto was at a loss for words. _Three tails isn't enough..?_ With a look of grim determination, Shirasei began to slowly unsheath the longer of the two swords that he possessed. Kisame squinted his eyes, disbelievingly as the soft sliding of metal on metal issued from the wooden tube across the black and blue back.

"A suicide attack..? Are you insane?" The sword continued to slowly come out of its sheath inch by inch as he struggled under Kisame's strength, more sweat adding to the beads already present on his paled face. The larger man leapt back, barely in the air, stopping next to his smaller, stoic partner. Shirasei wobbled side to side slightly as the immense pressure was removed and coughed.

"I see the weight of this fight is on my shoulders, it's alright, kid. Just don't let yourself get caught.." he said softly, weakly, and gave a pained smile that the taller boy could see from behind his friend's shoulder. _I..I let him down! He needed the strength of seven or eight tails..I don't even have half of that power!_ Naruto shook, his face disappointed in himself.

"Kisame," Itachi addressed his partner calmly. The larger man turned to the Uchiha. "He's the one who slew my brother. Don't underestimate him even in his weakened state." Kisame gave a gruff grunt and accompanying nod, turning his attention back to the trembling man infront of him.

"You must either be a lot stronger than you're letting yourself off to be, or a lot more cunning. Either way, I guess I'll need to tread lightly," Kisame acknowledged.

"Damn it..no coaching.." Shirasei managed to say softly, wheezing. Itachi removed his manicured hands from underneath his cloak in a brisk gesture, flicking his arms out. He stepped foreward, as if to join the battle.

"I'll get bored just standing here," he said without any emotion. Shirasei grimaced, smiling bitterly.

"Carry on then.." Itachi stepped back a couple of paces, giving his companion space to do battle. The two men who had clashed swords stared at each other, Kisame tall and broad, standing upright and calmly. Shirasei was panting, still hunched over a fair amount, in the same position as when he had deflected the strike from Naruto. He tightened his grip on the Oboenagi which still hung out of its sheath a handful of inches, its white blade glistening in the light. Some of the sweat trailed down Shirasei's whitened face from their stationary positions. The wind picked up a bit as the two stared at each other.

"Shirasei.." Naruto said apologetically.

"I can't win, Naruto. Be prepared to try to shoot past them if an opportunity arises.." Shirasei wheezed softly.

"What!" Naruto yelled at his friend. "You can, I know it!" Pained, the man shook his shock of wavey hair. He reached behind him and removed his bingo book from his back pocket with his right hand, dropped it in a half-hearted flick of the wrist towards the blonde nin, and returned his hand to the middle of his long sword's sheath.

Blinking, Naruto picked it up and flipped through to Shirasei. Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 5, Genjtsu: 3, Intelligence: 4, Force: 2, Speed: 4, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 3. _Aren't these great stats? What does.._ Naruto flipped through the pages. He found Kisame's outdated entry. Ninjutsu: Unknown, Taijutsu: Unknown, Intelligence: Presumeably 5, Force: 4, Speed: 4, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: Unknown.

Naruto only felt worse about himself. Shirasei's stamina had not increased over the year and a half since he first had met him. Kisame's rivaled his own endless pain threshhold, and Shirasei was already mortally wounded. Kisame also had a lot more strength - one hit and it was going to end it for Shirasei probably. "Aniki.." he said, but didn't know how to follow it.

"Just pay attention and watch for it.." his friend warned.

"You can't fight!" Naruto pressed. "Let me -"

"No!" Shirasei sounded angry. "This isn't a life or death fight in your case. If they manage to grab a hold of you, it's over kid." His friend winced in pain.

Naruto looked down glumly. His bad luck plagued even his friends. "When it rains, it pours.." he said to himself.

"It can't rain every day," Shirasei wheezed. Naruto blinked up in surprise, to see the black and blue clad shinobi launch himself at the taller man finally.

Unlike the struggle between Sasuke and Shirasei, there were no impressive sparks whenever the two, large weapons crossed each other. There was no musical, mournful singing from the blades. There was a lot less conflict with each pass the two swordsmen made, being their weapons were larger and harder to effectively strike each other in rapid succession unless within confines of the finely small, proper distance. Naruto watched as his friend became weaker, and his opponent seemed to not lose any wind. The black and blue clad shinobi slid backwards to the helpless nin, stopping a few feet away.

"This is going to end now," Kisame stated bluntly. Shirasei only smiled half-heartedly as he breathed heavy, clutching his wound near his shoulder from Sasuke with his free hand.

"Yes.." He shot a glance at Naruto. "I'm sorry that I couldn't make an opening for you. Get ready, this is it kid.." he said softly, voice still struggling to not wheeze. Naruto gave a pained look, he wanted to stay and fight, and help. He couldn't abandon his friend. _A shinobi can't fight every battle.._ Jiraiya's masculine voice told him in his head, but he only shook it to himself, not wanting to go.

Jaw trembling, Shirasei readied himself for an attack from Kisame, who hoisted the large weapon he carried over one shoulder. "Che, I didn't even get to do any fancy jutsu. What a let down. But I guess it can't be helped that you were wounded the way you were in your last recent fight," he mused, arrogantly.

Shirasei only smiled weakly. He removed his sheath, confusing the tall Kisame for a moment. Shirasei sheathed his long Oboenagi, and held it in place at his right hip, popping it from the sheath with his thumb. Kisame grinned his shark like smile. "You're going to try a draw counter? Classic! I like you - it's a shame we met this way because you would've been a lot better than some of the other grunts in Akatsuki." Itachi glanced at Kisame but didn't say anything before he returned his attention to the wavering man across from his companion. Kisame chuckled a bit, his large shoulders shaking. After he calmed himself, he readied to close the distance, putting both hands on the long handle of Samehade.

_You can't die here, aniki. Don't just fade away from me..!_ Naruto's vision blurred a little at the corners of his enlongated eyes, pain welling up inside of him. Why was he so weak?

Kisame shot like a bullet at Shirasei, spraying dust where his feet had been. In the few moments that it took for the large man to come upon him, the smaller man struggled to not cough, not now. Naruto didn't understand what happened next until the dust cleared a while later.

Samehada moved away from the awaiting Shirasei at the last moment, who had began to cough painfully, disabling him from drawing his own blade as he cringed in pain. A softly tanned moccassain beneath a matching softly tanned leather pant leg pushed its flat bottom against the wide side of Samehada, kicking it in an awkward arc from its desired target, causing it to make a strangely shaped trajectory and crash into the dirt a couple of feet next to the coughing Shirasei. Long cloak fluttering as it was attatched to a speeding, small but heavy body, Kisame's eyes widened a bit at the intruder who promptly sped a short, stocky but thick arm into the tall man's cheek. A heavy fist crashed against the surprised shinobi's head in a blur, and he was flung off to his side, just as fast as he had leapt at Shirasei. There was a crash, then a solid 'thunk,' as Kisame broke a thick tree in half, then proceeded to smash his back into another one ten or so feet away, bouncing to a halt and dropping lazily flat on his face. A body smaller than Naruto, smaller than Shirasei landed softly in a straight descent from where Kisame had been, the long, undone coat coming to a rest as he glared from underneath thick, unkempt eyebrows and a broad rimmed hat in the direction of the fallen foe with bright, yellow eyes. The pupils were slitted like an animal's.

Itachi's blurred face was a moment away from Naruto, but he halted, his image becoming clear. A small shuriken was embedded between the two - one more step and it would've been in Itachi's skull. Itachi tried to leap unpredictably in a sideways loop towards the blonde nin, but as he readied himself, a handful more black streaks flew into the ground in a trail that was going to be his path of movement, rapidly seeking the calm Uchiha. Itachi leapt off to the side, landing next to Kisame who was wincing as he struggled to get up, using Samehade to help him.

A shocking contrast to the small, compact body that had first appeared, a very large, blue blur came spinning in a sharp arc and stopped instantly as it reached the ground right infront of the blonde nin. Blunky's gangly, clumsy, tall, angular and long looking form was sprawled out in a manner that caught himself from flopping face and chest first into the ground. Itachi stood, his image pulsing in a way that shot a series of mirror images to his sides for a moment before disappearing.

Naruto turned, covered in a cold sweat as he saw a light purple manicured hand reaching for his face. It was slapped away a moment later, a moment before grabbing a hold of his head by a red manicured hand. The slightly smaller, definately more slender figure infront of Naruto had long, curley hair that reached its mid back. It gave an akward push immediately following the deflection of the attempted grab, making Itachi stumble back a couple of steps unevenly. In the short time, the figure hunched over the way Naruto had, groaning inhumanly in pain. The slender fingers on it enlongated like Naruto's, red nails becoming claws, some more muscle growing out of what had been just a while ago, small, smooth arms with little mass. In a hunched posture, the figure closed the small distance between itself and Uchiha, in an awkward leap that projected one side and arm foreward more than the other. This change in angle allowed Naruto to see the figure of a woman, front facing him, hair flying behind her. The next second she was clashing arms and claws with Itachi's arms and hands. They crossed strikes rapidly, maybe twenty times in a few seconds before the figure turned to avoid a quick, solid punch to the head, facing Naruto hunched over a fair deal as if to duck and roll. Jazlyn's face came to recognition to the young nin though it looked odd. Her eyes while still yellow and pupils still slitlike were glossed, as if a grey, transluscent membrane was held over them. She turned to look over her shoulder the next second and shot a foot out in the strange position, heel striking Itachi's crossed forearms and causing him be thrown back in a horizontal line, feet dragging a far distance and stirring up a lot of dust from the dirt road.

The energy of an explosion, not even ten feet away shook the blonde nin, as he turned to see the a sphere of dust rise. Kisame leapt out from behind it, towards his side, getting closer to Itachi. A small, handsized blur shot at Kisame's feet as he landed halfway, but the large man surprisingly managed to again jump out from behind the sphere of dust that furled up. The lanky form of Blunky mirrored his leap, twenty or so feet away with his long, slim arms out. Like a blur, he reached into the openings at his hip, elbows, and vest randomly and shot out a few blurs that looked like darts with something fluttering, attatched to the handles. In a couple of flashes of light like a camera, a handful more spheres arose where the two Akatsuki members had been standing. The giant Troll leapt back, landing in another strangely awkward looking, low to the ground position, placing his hands as well as his feet on the ground for balance. His body had sharp angles in the low posture. Staying almost sprawled out, he reached over and adjusted his monocle gingerly, trying to not get dirt smudged on it. His uncovered, beady eye was darting around for movement ahead of him.

Naruto looked at all the different shinobi, shocked. Hanshoumaru was inspecting a wincing Shirasei who panted painfully in a sitting position. He was also had the attention of a now normal looking Jazlyn who was crouching on one knee, her small hands on her lover's arm. Shirasei shook his head to answer something - apparently there had been an exchange of words in the chaos.

"Konoha's not so far away, we need to return Naruto to its safety," Shirasei struggled to let out, then coughed and spat some blood at his feet.

"Shirasei! Stop talking, you dummy!" Jazlyn squeezed her grip on his black and blue checkered arm. He only shook his head.

"Do it, I'll stay," he wheezed.

"You're coming too!" Naruto said angrily, stomping over to the older nin.

He only shook his head once, eyes clenched in pain. "I'd slow you down, I'm the one who has to stay behind. This is a race, stop arguing," he coughed painfully.

"If I may interject before we run (rrrrrrun) out of time, only you and the young man concerned about your safety have no defense against Sharingan. The Seiyas have that nifty third lid, and I can fight without vision thanks to my large and highly developed ears and nose. You can't stay and fight." Blunky deducted in a stern tone.

"I will because if I go, I'd slow down the group too much. Every time one of us is overcome, we lose time," he said quickly, straining not to cough. "Get going god damn it," Shirasei stood up with a strangled groan, placing his left hand on his sword hilt. He couldn't stand up straight.

"Shi-ra-sei..." Jazlyn began in an angry 'don't-you-dare-contradict-me-young-man' tone.

"Don't fight with me, woman!" Shirasei spat out instantly, making Jazlyn react as though struck. "I'm the Jounin here, do as I say, now!" Shirasei grimaced, then turning slightly so Naruto could see his sad face. "I'm sorry I couldn't teach you more, ototo.." his eyes were moist. As Naruto reached out for his hand, trying to say something, the black and blue clad shinobi rushed off into the disappating clouds of dust.

The young woman made to move to follow him, but a thick, leathery hand grabbed her wrist. She turned, angrily. "Let me stay with my husband, Baku!" _Hus..husband!_ Naruto was frozen in place in shock. Hanshoumaru stared at the glaring, struggling woman for a moment, then his thick arm appeared buried in her soft stomach, as she gasped in surprise and pain. The slender woman, taller than the calm Hanshoumaru fainted, crumpling into his bulky arms.

Naruto took advantage of this moment to attempt to go to the clouds down the road himself, but a large, wirey, three-podded hand grabbed the scruff of his neck. "Don't be rude (rrrrrude) and disrespectful. We are departing, young man, on behalf of the wish of your friend," Blunky chided. Hanshoumaru gingerly picked up his taller but lighter sister, holding her so that her slumped form was halfway over his shoulder.

Struggling, crying, kicking and screaming, Naruto was carried under the iron like grip of the giant shinobi.

"Blinky," Hanshoumaru's gravly voice reached the enlongated ears of the Troll, who turned half way. Startled, he caught the small, light body that was incoming to him. With a desparate and surprised look, he tried to reach past it to the stocky, wide faced man who stared at him with his bright, yellow eyes from underneath his broad rimmed hat. Blunky had to grab the incoming body though to not crash, Hanshoumaru immediately stopped and grew in the distance, facing them. Blunky gave a startled, pained cry as he watched his friend turn and coat trailing behind him loosely, jump into the nearly disappated dust after Shirasei. The tall and long Troll shook, but turned back the way he had been going.

"Kinjutsu: Nigenteki Shinka**(3)** - Tengu**(4)**! Henge!" The two deep voices rang out in unison reaching Naruto as he was being carried away. He saw the stocky, heavy nin ontop of the shoulders of the smaller, both having their arms infront of them. They were holding their weapons infront of them, unsheathed as they performed one handed seals. In a puff of smoke, the startled Kisame and stoic Itachi faced a monstous form, rivaling Blunky's height should he stand up tall, maybe taller. The arms were extremely muscular and bare, but the rest of the body was coated in blue-black plumage, down to the thighs of massive, bandy, grey-black scaled legs that ended in the clawed feet of a five toed bird, three talons in the front, two in the back. A long, leathery tail furled out from the tailbone area of the creature, coiling at its feet, ending in a series of sharp protrusions that were angled halfway to point into a star manner. The head was hawk like, and the bright yellow eyes with cat like pupils glared down at the two Akatsuki members from behind its short, black beak, wielding what looked like a fusion of Hanshoumaru's bowie knife, a spear and scythe. The long blade of the Oboenagi was clearly seen at the very end of the bottom portion of the shaft. The image disappeared underneath blurred earth, as Naruto was carried past a hill.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) By this time in the series I'd estimate they had captured the jinchuuriki they do in the manga, minus Gaara.**

**(2) Sanpaku eyes are eyes wide and/or beady enough so there is white surrounding the pupil completely. And yes, the author finds it a very freaky feature. And yes..Rock Lee has sanpaku eyes.**

**(3) "Forbidden Skill: Dual Evolution - Tengu"**

**(4) A Tengu is a mischevious, mythological being, sometimes refered to as a goblin or even demon in Japanese lore. These creatures' appearances range wildly, though mixing both bird and human like characterstics are commonplace - tell tale long and large noses are a popular feature on the more human types. The most well known use of Tengu in lore is actually in history, when one of the most famous Samurai trained on a mountain. Supposedly he was struck by lightning and trained by Tengu, developing a wildly new style of kenjutsu. The author unfortunately does not remember the swordsman's name, but does remember he was known for practicing in the rain a lot. He died at the age of 26, when he was struck by lightning a second time.**


	22. Chp 22: Pervert To Pervert To Pervert

Jeez, I can't believe some people felt Sasuke's death wasn't bloody enough. The poor guy was stabbed in the heart and neck, did you want me to cut him into a smoothie?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, so I see," Jiraiya was either in a dream or his luck was finally changing. He had found himself in the company of a pretty teenage girl and a young woman. Originally he was going to be stuck with the stiff company of a silent, squat, murderously strong little man and his apparent exact opposite - a tall, lanky, scrawny troll gentleman. However, the two had gone off ahead to discuss politics and other 'gentlemanly' topics, much to Jiraiya's immense surprise and pleasure. The rain nin were in the area from a previous mission, and Hanshoumaru had been conducting serveillance on Akatsuki. He was supposed to meet up with Jiraiya and Shirasei later that evening. Hinata had been with Naruto who was going to leave to train privately with Jiraiya before the meeting, but had run off when he heard Shirasei was in the area, thinking he might know where his friend was. Hinata decided she wanted to see what exactly this mysterious training was, so left in the guise she was going to get suveniers from the next outpost with the group.

"Yep. Those Icha Icha books really helped me win the man of my dreams," Jazlyn winked one of her bright yellow eyes at the older man. She wore a light coating of eye shadow between her thin but unkempt eyebrows and thick but undone eyelashes and had done her short (for a woman) nails red.

"Are..are you serious..?" Hinata timidly poked from the other side of Jiraiya. The grown woman grinned at her and nodded.

"Yep, it was just like the third volume," she remarked, and while Jiraiya knew what she was referring to, the innocent little girl next to him apparently did not. When she realized that, blinking, she went to explain. "He had been completely rejected by the girl he loved, so I confronted him when I saw him alone in his room. It took me a while, but I managed to finally throw my arms around his neck and kiss him passionately for minutes." Jazlyn giggled, blushing two rosey patches. "I did manage to realize I was tearing off his clothing, but I didn't stop myself," she grinned, making the young girl hide behind her hand while turning red.

"Wow..I..I don't think I could ever do something like that.." Hinata admitted in wonder, softly, face heated.

"Huh? Well you can only keep trying if you don't manage the first time." Jiraiya remarked, one eye closed as he regarded the shy girl next to him. _Naruto will never hear the end of this if I can set up a night of suprised passion for him..but maybe it'll pay itself off by inspiring him to make his own Icha Icha..!_ Jiraiya had gotten a glazed, open-mouthed smile with a tendril of drool. The two girls kept talking across his broad body though.

"Well I didn't either, I used to be as shy as you say you were. I'd always lock up, thinking about what I'd want to happen, blush and get a nose bleed since my fantasies..excited me a great deal. I think all Shirasei ever knew of me until that moment was the girl who blushed and ran off holding her nose whenever he made a comment directed at me or we were alone together." Jazlyn rubbed the back of her head, grinning.

"Oh.." Hinata sighed. "I..I don't know..I'm not sure Naruto-kun would..like that sort of thing very much.." Jiraiya snapped out of his daze.

"Why would you say that, Hinata-chan?" He poked.

"Well..I..I accidently..grabbed Naruto-kun's..bottom..instead of his hand on our first date.." She barely said over a whisper, embarassed beyond belief. Jazlyn gasped with an open-mouthed smile while Jiraiya started shocked. "He..he didn't seem to like it, he was embarassed..even if it was an accident, he thought I had done it..on..purpose..like a bad girl.." she drew out softly." Jiraiya lost his shock.

"This is my pupil we're speaking about, not Tsunade or Orochimaru's." The Toad Hermit pointed out, "He does have that one henge no jutsu where he turns into a naked woman - it's how he got me to start training him to begin with, you know." He ended the snippit of info with one eye closed, regarding the blushing maiden. She ducked into her shoulders.

"Na..Naruto-kun has that kind of..jutsu..?" Her eyes sparkled.

"I wouldn't lie about it. I **am** a legendary Sannin after all." Jiraiya puffed out his chest.

"Hinata-chan, trust me. He'll like it, you just have to come around to doing it unless you want to wait for his innocense to finally melt away with age," Jazlyn said sagely.

"Mm..." Hinata considered this quietly, cheeks never losing their flush.

"Sooo.." Jiraiya broke the silence that had followed Jazlyn's last pointer. "..how far are you two through my series, by the way?" Jiraiya grinned. He wasn't aware he had any female audience. _I'll have to add some risque scenes that cater more towards the finer gender I suppose, but still be able to be found sexy for men everywhere.._

"Mm.." Jazlyn frowned, thinking, a red finger nail at the corner of her plush, pink lips. "I think I stopped somewhere in the middle of the fourth - I lost that volume while on a mission and didn't want to skip any content."

"What about you, young lady?" Jiraiya eyed Hinata, who rocked a little with her shoulders ducked, embarrassed to admit at all that she had ever read a word from the series.

"I..I've only read the first volume.." She softly said. "But I liked it a lot..the main character reminds me of Naruto-kun and myself but as one person in a way.." she smiled softly.

_Eh? I guess I was kinda like Hinata when I was Naruto's age.._ "Is that so? Well it just so happens to be your lucky day, ladies.." Jiraya began to dig into the opening at the front of his gi jacket. The two watched him curiously, Jazlyn with her head angled like a cat, Hinata from behind a hand. The Frog Hermit produced two hand-sized manga from within in vest. "Ta-da! Volume two for you," he pushed the said book into Hinata's hand, making her turn even redder as she accepted it. "And volume four for you.." he held out the book which was prompty snatched up by an insanely giggling Jazlyn.

"Hahaha, I can't wait until we're both home alone..this is gonna give me so many ideas to do to Shirasei!" Her rosey cheeks became rosier as she flipped through the book. Hinata felt woozy after Jazlyn's comment, swaying unsteadily as she imagined herself doing whatever Jazlyn was planning to do to her own lover. Jazlyn paused her lightning fast perusing, pressing the book to her chest and giving a long sigh, head faced up. She giggled again, "I won't let him sleep. Thanks a lot, Jiraiya-sama."

The older man smiled with a 'heh,' looking over at the young woman. "Try to get him to write about what you two do and I'll call it even," he winked. "And that goes for you too, little miss," he grinned down at Hinata who jumped a little, and turned more red.

"It..it'd be..up to Naruto-kun..what he writes about.." she fidgetted. She poked her fingers together.

"Young lovers are so cute, don'cha think Jiraiya-sama?" The older kunoichi grinned at the old pervert.

"Most definately, especially when it comes to beating around the bush for these sorts of things. It's the stuff Icha Icha is made from," he said sagely, arms akimbo.

Hinata put her hands on her cheeks, flustered. "How..how can I do something..like from these books..to Naruto-kun..?"

"Oh? Haha, I knew you had it in ya when I caught you reading Icha Icha volume one." Jazlyn mused with one eye closed, watching Hinata who only turned more red and whimpered.

"I'd imagine the most likely places are either his apartment - being there's no supervision, or some place you two may go off alone sometimes to just spend time together, innocently up until now.." Jiraiya suggested, a glint in his eye. He added quickly, "You didn't hear that from me though (Tsunade will beat me up)."

"Mm..how're things with you and your sexy comrade, by the way? I noticed that bully with a crush on the main character, Momiji looks a lot like the Hokage." Jazlyn pried.

"Huh? Eh, heh heh heh.." Jiraiya rubbed the back of his spikey head. "I've gotten around to second base with her a few times, but trying to go any further's gotten me hurt a great deal." He admitted, blushing a bit.

"Huh? That's a bit of a let down coming from the author of my favorite book series.." Jazlyn said disappointed.

"Maybe.." Hinata said softly. The two adults looked at her, startled. "..maybe you just..need to do some..romantic things..for Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama..like..buy her some flowers.." Hinata smiled, blushing once again. "..or..taking her out to dinner.." she poked her fingers together. "..buying her a holiday present..for maybe..Valentine's Day gift.." she ducked into her shoulders again, rocking a bit as they walked. All those things had worked on her from Naruto, if only he'd go for it..

"Huh? Hmm.." Jiraiya rubbed his mug.

"Shirasei does those sorts of things too, you know. We ladies appreciate it - we're not simply perverts under the cover of poise, collected bombshells," she shot at the author, one eye closed.

"Well, if there's so much evidence of it working around me, guess I'll give it a shot.." he mused.

"So, did you want us to help ya plan a method of attack?" Jazlyn seemed pretty enthusiastic about Hinata's love life, making the girl blush madly.

"May..maybe..I was just..thinking.." Hinata poked her fingers together. "If we were alone..to try to hold his hand..then kiss him..if it felt right."

"Huh? Well that's all fine and dandy but it may not go where you want it to," Jiraiya mused.

"Mm yup. He sounds a little slow if you know what I mean," Jazlyn commented. Hinata would like to get mad but had to agree unfortunately (_Sorry Naruto-kun, it's true_). "The way I was thinking of it was - .."

A small bird fluttered over to Jazlyn, slowing its pace down. The kunoichi held out her hands, palms up, allowing the bird to land in her hand. It pecked her palms a few times, testing it, then proceeded to rattle off a line of chirping, to which the woman listened to, blinking once in a while. She knitted her brows after a while. The bird stopped finally, cocked its head at her, then took off.

"Huh..? What was that all about?" Jiraiya asked.

"It was a messanger from my brother. There's trouble up a head, really bad trouble." Jazlyn shook a bit, coming out in a cold sweat.

"What..what's wrong, Jazlyn-san?" Hinata asked. Jazlyn's eyes widened when she heard the timid maiden's soft voice. _Damn it..she's going to want to go if she knows Naruto's involved and it's going to make things harder. We could really use The Toad Hermit but..it's not worth it if she gets endangered because she refuses to stay put or return to Konoha.._ She bit her lip. "I..don't know. You two stay here, I'm going to go check it out." Jazlyn bound down the path quickly.

Jiraiya watched, next to the teenage girl. He frowned. _She was lying. Why? Is it because.._ The older man turned his gaze down to the worried looking Hinata, who was watching their friend shrink quickly into the distance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	23. Chp 23: Rated M For A Reason

Of note: First off, this chapter is completely skippable so do so if you want to progress the storyline further. Just I wanted to attempt an "M" rated chapter and fill in some of the blanks.

Also, in the begining of the chapter, Jazlyn is almost thirteen and Shirasei and Tameiya are fourteen. Towards the end, Jazlyn is fifteen or sixteen.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young boy sighed. His skin was a little tanned, which contrasted nicely with his dark shock of wavey, shoulder-length hair that covered the right half of his face. He was a bit taller and older than her. She had noticed the downcast youth as she approached her older brother who was standing near him.

"Practice. You'll do it," her bulky brother told the boy in his almost inhumanly deep voice.

"Okay, Baku-sensei." His voice was deep, just like how it was in the present. Infact, Shirasei looked almost exactly the same. Perhaps five to ten pounds less bulky, but other than that, he was the same height and looks as he had been the last six or seven years. He wore a navy blue, slightly baggy and unzipped hooded sweat shirt with the top up typically. In the opening she could see a white cordoruy muscle shirt clinging to his body above his well fitting, faded blue jeans. Jazlyn, a handful of inches shorter with still slightly rounded features and stubbiesh limbs ran over to her brother's stocky, thick figure and clung to its waist, looking at the stranger infront of the feral man. Hanshoumaru's eyes crinkled as he smiled down at his sister from underneath his broad rimmed hat.

"Ohhh, hello Jazlyn-chan," he said kindly with a few lengthily punctuated laughs, bending over a little to look at the smaller girl. He patted her curl-covered head with his large, rough hand. "School out so soon?"

"Who's that, Baku-sensei?" The teenage boy cast his gaze over to the somewhat smaller girl.

"Jazlyn, my sister. Say 'hi,' to Shirasei, Jazlyn-chan." He cooed.

"H..hi.." She said softly, ducking behind Hanshoumaru's bulky figure a bit more but still looking at the boy. She thought he was cute.

"Mm, she's aweful shy," Shirasei commented. The girl hugged the solid body a bit more. "I would've thought she'd have passed that stage at her current age. The Seiya eyes on her are rather adorable for some reason," he added with a single soft laugh. Jazlyn hugged Hanshoumaru, hiding almost all of her face except for one eye. Her face felt like it was burning.

"Don't catch a cold now," Hanshoumaru said briskly, scooping up the girl who was only a foot or so shorter than himself up in his bandy arms. The youth gave a pained and deflated look at the two. Hanshoumaru seemed to notice without looking directly at the boy. "Come to dinner. Don't be alone every night." He was given a nod.

Shirasei ate slowly, quietly, clearly savoring the home made food. The two Seiya also ate quietly, though much faster. Jazlyn would cast furtive glimpses at the boy whenever he went to bite. His face stretched a bit comically when he chewed, and she couldn't help but watch a bit. It was hard not to giggle at how cute he looked doing it. After the meal was done, Shirasei rose to excuse himself for the night.

"Thank you, Baku-sensei." Her older brother smiled softly at the teenager.

"Anytime," he said.

The youth nodded, then turned his attention to Jazlyn who gasped softly and ducked into her shoulders a bit. "You behave yourself and do good at the academy. Sweet dreams," he said with a single wave of his hand held at chest level, before he left into the night. As Jazlyn laid in bed waiting for sleep to come, all she could remember was Shirasei repeating 'sweet dreams,' and waving once before disappearing into the night behind him over and over, the edges of the images surrounded in glittering sparkles.

_Jazlyn felt like she was floating, moving somewhere, being carried. She felt like her mind was here but her body was there for a short moment, then the disorientating sensation passed._

The days had gone by, normally rainy and dim, as was their country's typical attitude. Sometimes when she got out of her academy classes, she would find her brother Hanshoumaru instructing the young boy who had burned himself into her memory from their first encounter. She would realize small things about him like the flat little black dots spread out sparesly on his cheeks, that his eyes were dark brown and not black, that he had a bump at the first knuckle of his right forefinger (he called it a 'calus,' which he said was from writing a lot), that he wrote a lot whenever he wasn't with her brother (she would catch him in unusual places, writing peacefully by himself and watch him for hours). Whenever she came across him, some reason she found herself smiling and not knowing why, sometimes feeling a little hot on her cheeks, or breathing lighter than she normally would. Her heart would race each time, but she liked it all.

She wondered what he wrote, and why so much. He spent more time writing than he did practicing any ninja talents. Just once she'd like to sit next to him and read what he was creating, but .._I hardly know him. He'd give me a weird look and go away..and maybe never come back to where I saw him.._ and the fear of uncertainty began to grow inside of her chest.

One day she happened to spy her quiet crush writing on a bench when a green haired girl in a thick, blood red gi strode up to him and sat herself down next to him. Jazlyn gave a startled gasp, her heart tearing as the girl with a high, green pony tail leaned over and gazed down at what he was writing. The teenager smiled and moved his writing pad so she could see it better. Jazlyn glared from her hiding spot. _The older girl vanished and there was Jazlyn instead, strolling over as if she saw and spoke to him every day. She sat down next to him and looked over curiously at what Shirasei was working on. Jazlyn faded away into the green haired girl. _The shorter haired girl rested her small head on Shirasei's shoulder as they spoke, and Jazlyn found herself loudly grinding her teeth from her hiding place. They were together all day, and the young girl could feel her shoulders sagging.

The next day after she was released from class, she wanted to tell her brother that she had graduated to Genin. She found him happily for herself out in the light rain with Shirasei. Shirasei was wearing what looked like light-plated gloves, some several inch long claws protruding from the top knuckle joints. The boy was removing a blindfold from his eyes with some small, hand sized balls around his feet. Some of them were split in half.

"Onii-san, I graduated! I'm a Genin now! I was teamed up with this tall, skinny blue guy - he's weird.." she called out in her young voice, rapidly approaching the two. Hanshoumaru's eyes crinkled as he gave a wide smile.

"That so?" He laughed softly, catching his sister in his short, thick arms and returning her hug. She caught his student smiling softly at the two, and it made her flush lightly.

"Huh? How old is your sister, Baku-sensei?" The voice was gentle and mature, like a singer who was only speaking at the moment. She turned and fearfully found the green haired girl standing next to Shirasei, wearing a thick, blood-red gi.

"Twelve, Tameiya-chan," Hanshoumaru stated.

"Hrm, I graduated when I was a couple of years younger, but I suppose as a Seiya, I can expect great things out of her. Perhaps she's just a late bloomer," the older girl speculated. Jazlyn felt the warmth and happiness deflating.

"Mm, I graduated when I was thirteen last year. She was faster than me," Shirasei let out in his deep voice. The happiness returned. _He defended me.._

"Shirasei, that's just because you always have your nose in a piece of paper. You could've graduated the same year as me if you spent half as much time practicing genjutsu and seals instead of writing nonsense," Tameiya scolded. Jazlyn frowned.

Shirasei gave a small shrug. "They're boring, writing isn't." Tameiya gave an exasparated sigh as she rolled her half opened, vividly blue eyes.

"Whatever. I don't know why you're my best friend sometimes" she grumbled.

"Because you have a good heart," Shirasei said without thinking. _A good..heart?_ Tameiya tossed her head to face away from Shirasei, but had pink hanging on her cheeks. Shirasei scratched his thick neck. "Baku-sensei, what're you going to do to celebrate your sister's graduation?" Jazlyn tried to hide herself against her brother's thick body, pink on her cheeks.

Their instructor thought for a while, gazing at the little girl. "Teach her the ways of the Seiya. She's already begun puberty - her birthday's soon. Has to begin to walk her path." Jazlyn blinked her big, yellow eyes at her brother.

"I see. I guess for a ninja, things are celebrated and special in a different manner than civilians." He sounded disappointed, sad.

Later that night, Hanshoumaru opened the large door down to their cellar and pens, letting his smaller sister procede him. At the bottom he sighed, the kenelled pups wrestling with each other infront of him. They were almost adults, but still had some youthful features such as stubborn puppy fat. Jazlyn blinked up at her brother.

"Seiya can speak and listen to all animals. Dog is easiest - man's natural companion since long ago." He told her. "Watch the body, use it. Try to hear what they say, or tell them what you feel. I'll be back, going to make us dinner." And with that, the tail of his coat fluttering lazily as he ascended the steps, Hanshoumaru disappeared, closing the door behind him.

_Why are you fighting?_ Jazlyn thought, tilting her head at the two. The puppies stopped and sat on their haunches, staring at her. _'Cuz we like each other and it's fun,'_ came the thoughts to her. _But you hurt each other._ She blinked. _'Not really. And if we do, we lick the wound to make it better.' _ The two went back to wrestling about. _ I see.._

After a while, one yelped as the other bit too hard on its ear. The two stopped and the attacker began to lick the wounded ear diligently. Jazlyn watched with her bright yellow eyes, intrigued. The other didn't seem to be in pain anymore. Infact, it began to act strange and turned on its belly, raising its rump to the other. The attacker growled throatily, and stood over the laying dog, who only whined and raised its rump more. Jazlyn tilted her head, raising an eyebrow as the standing dog lowered itself to place its lap over the whining dog, and began to shake the other's body by contacting it with its lap repeatedly. Jazlyn watched with her lips parted in wonder, as the other dog lolled its head back, eyes closed. It had a very content look on its face as did the other, panting with its tongue hanging out. The young girl felt heat on her cheeks and strangely, at the top of between her legs as the two continued to pant infront of her. After a while, the one on top stopped and the lying dog turned onto its back more, legs spread apart, whining again. The attacker growled and once again, lowered itself to the other and began to rock its body.

_What..what are you two doing?_ She asked, amazed. _'We're giving pleasure to each other. You do it when a boy likes a girl.'_ The dogs continued to rough house in their strange manner. Blinking, Jazlyn saw the one ontop as Shirasei and herself laying before him, giving the same pleased looks as the dogs. The door opened behind the captivated Jazlyn. Hanshoumaru was not thrilled, as he stomped over and whacked the boy (the one standing) on the bottom. Immediately the two sprang apart, cowering in a corner and whining.

_God damn it! She's too young for that!_ A lot of anger radiated off the solid mass of muscle known as Hanshoumaru. The two dogs only shuddered in fear. Hanshoumaru sighed, and brought Jazlyn upstairs. That was the last time she saw the dogs for a couple of years, but the damage had already been done.

Leaving the academy the next day to walk home with Hanshoumaru, Jazlyn found her crush practicing alone where he normally would be found with her brother. Blushing, she walked up to him slowly, feeling numb, as if in a dream. She saw nothing else but his figure. He stopped and cast his gaze to her when she neared.

"Mm..? Hey kid," Shirasei was looking at her. She jumped a little, cheeks heating a bit, but he didn't seem to notice or care. To her surprise, he offered, "Baku-sensei is off doing heavy survival training and conditioning with Tameiya right now. Did you want me to walk you home?"

Jazlyn felt the heat in her cheeks grow as she shook her head, too breathless to answer in words. She looked around find they were alone and out of sight of everyone. She went and sat down against a wall near the training youth. _He's so good at taijutsu.. I should talk to him..but he's practicing, he'd find it annoying. I wonder if he might like me just a little..I have a good heart, right..?_ Her head turned red as she remembered their dogs, and how she had wanted it to be them. He reminded her of an animal whenever she saw him sticking hands with her brother or Tameiya, reacting fast and instinctively. The thought only made her blush more furiously.

"Uh, are you alright?" Shirasei paused his training noticing how red she was, holding still in the pose of his last taijutsu technique. He walked over to the stunned girl and put his hand on her forehead. Jazlyn trembled, whimpering. _He's so close..is he..going to..?_ _The dogs were the two naked youths in her mind. She was gasping desparately as he growled ontop of her like a beast. _Jazlyn felt two pinpricks in her nostrils, two streams of red liquid gushing out. "Ah..?" Shirasei gasped softly, shocked and falling back a little. Jazlyn slapped her hand over her nose wide eyed and ran off just as red as before. "Oh wow, I hope that's not too abnormal for someone her age.."

From that moment on, Jazlyn was plagued with powerful nosebleeds at the worst times - whenever she was alone with with her crush or whenever he showed her some attention. For some reason she always thought of the two meshing bodies, even when she wasn't around him. She'd feel uneasy in the stomach and her body would become more sensative to touch. Her body would tell her she wanted to be rubbed between her legs, her chest, her neck, sides, upper arms, back, bottom, legs, hips. After her birthday she decided it was best to just watch from afar, hiding behind corners and trees to watch her crush. But sometime after her birthday, she found herself bump into him bodily when rounding a corner.

"Ah..!" Shirasei winced as one of his clawed gloves he was carrying scratched the back of his hand, clattering to the ground. "Mm..!" He waved his hand trying to shake the pain away. Jazlyn immediately knelt and picked up the dropped weapons. She trembled, next to the person she wanted to like her so much and make happy. She saw the blood on his hand and thought of her dogs.

_She gently took his hands in her's, and lowered her head to the wound. She began to run the tip of her tongue across the red, easing his pain away. After a while, she felt her forehead nudged to see his face a couple of inches from her's, lips parted. Nearly closing his eyes he covered her lips with his, rubbing and curling his tongue against her's._

Shirasei blinked a few times at the trembling, whimpering girl infront of him. She was hyperventilating, her neck and head seemed to be steaming warmth in her mind. "Um Jazlyn? It's me, remember? You don't have to be afraid."

_"You don't have to be afraid," he murmered in his soft, deep voice as he pressed her back against a wall, pressing his warm, plush body against her front, hands slowly roaming down her sides that were begining to curve a fair amount. _She felt her nose rupture, spraying red while wide eyed. Shirasei blinked wide eyed, looking down at the red spray pattern on his lower torso. He heard his weapons clatter to the ground after the girl slapped her hand over her nose and ran quickly away.

"Maybe it's a family trait...but then how come I never see Baku-sensei do that..?" Shirasei scratched his eyebrow as he bent down to pick up his weapons.

Jazlyn felt hot tears leak from her as she kicked and beat her bed, laying on her belly. She had been there a long time saying the same things to herself in different ways over and over. _I can't believe I did that to him! Now he's going to hate me for ruining his clothes! I'm so embarassed I could die!_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a cough, and she looked up from her tear-eyed laying position to see her brother filling up half her doorway. She sniffled, not wanting to talk.

"Uh..it's that **time **of your life..so here.." The uncharacteristically nervous brother tossed a small, handsized book onto the bed next to Jazlyn. He left without another word, and despite all the fuzz on his cheeks, Jazlyn thought she could've seen his dark skin a bit more red than usual in the slight moment she had managed to see his face before he disappeared from view. Her brother had acted very strange. Normally he would've been worried about her crying or at least explained what he meant by what he had said.

"What..what is this onii-san..?" She blinked down at the book. A man was chasing a giggling woman under the bold title Icha Icha Paradise. She opened the book slowly..

From that time on she began to become engrossed in reading the strange story of a shy boy who loved to watch girls. A lot. And see things he wasn't supposed to. A lot. He would always act loud and stupid whenever confronted by a girl he liked, instead of just being himself. He could never tell them what he really felt or what was on his mind. There was a very curvey blonde with small eyebrows who was fond of bullying and embarassing him but secretly had a crush on the grey-haired boy. Because of it, she was capable of doing unexpected, kind things for him once in a while, even if he didn't know it. Months later she had finished the book, her nose normally in it whenever she was not practicing being a kunoichi. She found herself in the local bookstore, looking to see if there was anymore Icha Icha. Apparently there was a second book, so she bought it after receiving a strange look from the clerk. Excitedly she began to read it instantly, imagining herself as the grey-haired boy and the girls he had crushes on were her own wavey haired crush.

She gasped and dropped the book one day. Then immediately picked it back up, legs quaking and shoulders trembling. The girl the main character was spying on through a bathroom window had put her hand between her legs and was rubbing it, looking ecstatic. She panted, blushed, squirmed, moaned, gasped as she thought of the grey haired boy grinding into her until with a jerk and a quavering whimper, she let loose liquid from her legs. It wasn't pee. Her eyes were glazed as she panted, and seemed very happy from her inner thoughts. Jazlyn was numb, jaw trembling, cheeks burning. She bit her thumb, looking around the house. She was all alone. In the restroom, door locked, she timidly felt around that area the girl had been. She instantly wished it was her crush instead, biting the nails of her free hand..

This became a frequent occurrance both in the book and in her life. Sometimes she would squirm thinking about getting away from practice and her lanky teammate to relieve the pressure. Many orgasms later, Jazlyn found herself buying the third book. Another year and a half had gone by of her doing what she wished was being done to her by a certain someone else and nosing about in the book, practicing ninja arts and spying on her crush occassionally to feel the pangs of jealousy whenever she saw him happily in the company of his own teammate Tameiya. Sometimes she felt the nearly uncontrollable urge to leap on the beautiful, older, smaller teenage girl but couldn't find herself doing it because she would be in the company of Shirasei, who somehow paralyzed her with her dreams and desires. Their Chuunin exams were approaching rapidly, and she had a nervous feeling but knew this was her chance to impress her crush without having to confront him directly.

Unfortunately she was eliminated by her rival (privately known only to herself) in the preliminaries, effortlessly. She felt her heart sink so far as she drug her heavy feet to spectating distance. Her own teammate, the tall, lanky, angular, blue Blunky was matched up against her crush the next fight. She was torn between who to cheer, who to want to win. Her mind told her that she wanted her teammate, but her heart wanted her crush to win the entire thing altogether, then sweep her off her feet and carry her off.

Blunky struggled good and long, trying to keep as much distance between the two as he could as he rapidly shot off throwing weapons. It didn't take Shirasei more than the initial few moments to want to try to hug his opponent and take advantage of the gangly troll's deadzone. However, Blunky was very fast and agile - more so than her crush, sometimes doing oddly and clumsily positioned but gracefully performed acrobatics whenever Shirasei managed to lunge into the inopportune area of his opponent. The troll would shoot out more projectiles in a blurred motion whenever he leapt away from his flailing looking flips and aeriel cartwheels, pausing mid rotation to fling the projectiles before returning to the motion normally. Jazlyn winced the few times red streaked through her crush's clothing, or pooled around the protrusion of a lodged weapon in his body. Shirasei grounded his teeth as he panted, rapidly performing a string of around twenty seals. Her teammate watched him with his head cocked a bit while he breathed calmly, both his beady eyes taking in the seals. He squinted a bit, not sure what to expect. His large ears twitched, catching the handful of phrases as the close-eyed youth before him shot off the seals as well as the young, yellow eyed girl's smaller, well trained ears. _"..kage butoukai..tengu feet..bunshin no jutsu.."_

With a bestial roar, Shirasei shot at the tall man, kicking up a spurt of dust where his feet had been. Some of those around Jazlyn gasped, as two other Shiraseis shot off at frontal angles from the middle one, aiming to flank the troll. They all had a stream of images that followed them, which after a few moments would flicker and fade away after holding the position Shirasei had just been in. In a few seconds, the Shiraseis with their open sweatshirt fluttering behind them from the high speed was upon the stunned troll who leapt up desparately, spraying a sideways arc of projectiles from both hands in a single motion, hastily pulled from the stiff openings in his outfit's vest. The two at the flanks flickered when hit and disappeared, while the Shirasei in the middle tried to block as much as possible with his arms and legs, wincing, the troll relaxing a bit. Jazlyn felt her heart pounding as for a moment in her ears as the weapon-riddled body suspended motionlessly in the air. Her crush grimaced in pain. **Puff..**after the cloud disappeared Blunky gave a shocked twitch while still floating up, slowing, seeing that the middle boy had been a loose tile pulled from the ground. Panicked, the tall, blue boy looked around hastily. Shirasei shoved the tile away to the side with his closest arm from his folded up and ball like position as he uncrumpled himself, shocking the troll more. _He was behind the kawarimi...?**(1)**_

Teeth bared, the top of Shirasei's foot crashed into the side of Blunky's head. The figure who must've been close to twice his size jolted, body going limp. The two had reached the apex of their ascent, but paused as each time that Shirasei's foot hit his opponent, the opponent would pop up a few inches slowly, and he would seemingly jump off the air itself a few more inches himself directly after attacking to attack again. After a handful of different kicks to his opponent's large head that caused the clumsy looking figure to spin one way or another and flip one way or another in the air, Shirasei made a lazy backflip as if he was hanging from a horizontal bar. The second time around catching the flailing, clumsy looking body under his jaw. The smaller boy tucked into a ball and reversed his revolution as the ungainly looking body below him fipped backwards itself, almost coming to a halt below the smaller body, back arched, almost parallel to the ground. The smaller boy spun down, flipping foreward and then shot out his legs, the tops of his feet striking Blunky's scalp. With a sharp groan, the tall figure flipped, flailing down to the ground, smashing his large head eye-brow first into the ground. An instant later the plummetting youth who was also flipping and flailing crashed to the ground onto his hands, kneeds and balls of his feet. He spun away the next moment, standing up with his palms near his chest as he exhaled, lowering them. Blunky was crumpled, unconscious. He looked deathly still.

Shirasei gave a regretful look up over to Jazlyn, who started, hand at her lips, cheeks rosy. After he had been declared winner, he approached the panicking girl. She could feel sweat droplets bouncing off her red face, heart beating rapidly, body shaking. Her bright eyes were wide.

"I'm sorry I was so rough with your friend," he said. They had had to immediately bandage one of Blunky's eyes, a small pool of blood collecting underneath his face. "I got too excited I guess."

_"I'm sorry I was so rough..I got too excited.." he murmered to her in her frantic mind, eyes half closed and inches away from her own and slowly closing the distance. His warm fingers entwined in hers, closing tightly, pressing his larger, compact body against her own and pinning her against the cold wall. _She felt the hot streams jetison from her nose as she slapped her hand over her face, and ran off after Blunky being carried on a stretcher. He was too tall and gangly to properly fit on it, his hands and feet dragging on the ground.

The next month passed by slowly. Mortified, Jazlyn had hid herself inside the confines of her home, but it was time to watch her crush in action again, hidden among the crowds. She found herself in the audience, looking at the last eight of the genin who were anxiously waiting to show off to the crowd. Shirasei was first matched against a musclely looking boy, taller and bulkier than himself.

The two engaged in a lot of quick taijutsu. The larger boy was much faster than Shirasei, but somehow with his slower movements, Shirasei seemed to halt any of his attacks by moving shorter distances. His own attacks were sharp and unpredictable, using the top of his wrist, sides of his hands, finger tips, multiple knuckles, fists, elbows, knees, shins, feet. Eventually her crush wore down his opponent by sneaking in unexpected hits progressively throughout the fight while hardly being hit himself. He was declared winner.

An hour and a half or so later, it had began to rain as Shirasei stood across from the girl who caused her much personal jealousy and inner turmoil. If only it wasn't for her, maybe she could've approached him.. He lost lousily, unable to lay a hand on her. Any of his impressive looking jutsu she easily overcame with her sheathed sword, causing him to seemingly magically appear out of nowhere or somehow knowingly choosing the correct image by sharply striking him and dispelling whichever jutsu was at hand. Her heart bled as she saw him lying crumpled, defeated, red swirling in the water that coated the cement tiles after receiving a rapid storm of slashes and whacks from his opponent. _Please be alright, Shirasei.._ She yearned to go with him as he was carried away from the roaring stadium. After a sleepless night, her brother took her to see him. Shirsaei wanted to see her teammate of all people very badly, to apologize for how much he had hurt him. Blunky's eye had lost the majority of its vision and was scarred horribly around the pupil and face adjoining it.

Hanshoumaru left to attend the ceremony that awarded the genin who passed their new ranks. As a trainer, he had to be there earlier than the genin. Jazlyn found herself breathless, alone with her crush. Her eyes were moist seeing how hurt he was - his arms were wrapped in bandages, as was his semi-bare chest. His breathing was soft and shallow but steady. He smiled weakly over to her, making her cheeks become rosy and hot.

"Thanks for visiting me, Jazlyn. You two were my only visitors, it means a lot.. I feel so guilty for maiming your teammate though," he admitted, closing his eyes pained.

"It..it's..okay..people die in the Chuunin exam..you could've killed him..but didn't.." she said softly. Her voice was becoming a bit deep and slightly husky for a girl, she hated it.

He smiled again softly despite her 'ugly' voice, nothing like Tameiya's. "I had hoped Tameiya would visit me but I guess not." Jazlyn's gaze lowered to the ground. "I'm being released tomorrow, I'll find out if I was good enough for Chuunin or not.." he mused light heartedly.

Lifting up her chin to look at Shirasei, Jazlyn found herself panicked for no real reason. "You'll make it! I know you will, you're the greatest!" she burst out quickly with her small hands clutched at her heaving chest, then ducked into her shoulders, turning red and fuming in embarassment.

"I'm not the best as Tameiya showed everyone, but thanks. It lifts my spirits a great deal," he said earnestly. Jazlyn trembled, her thoughts swimming. "Perhaps you should go check up on Blunky. I can't myself, I'm worried.."

"O..okay..get..well quick.." she said softly, making him smile again. She felt her cheeks heat as she ran out of the room to check on her teammate. _I can't believe I didn't spaz out and nosebleed for once. Maybe next time I can.._

Sleep would not come to the growing girl. Unrestfully she took out her Icha Icha book (volume three). She smiled softly to herself as she imagined herself as the grey haired boy. He had just confronted the girl he had loved for a long time, but she had scoffed at him and turned him away. _What if that happens to me.. _The bully who always tormented the boy came to him as he felt depressed in his room. Surprised, blinking, Jazlyn read on. Wordlessly, she approached the surprised boy, then threw her arms around his neck with a desparate kiss. The two fell to instinctive love making and then sleep in each other's arms. Jazlyn felt blutterflies in herself. The next day came. As was their country's nature, it was dark and grey with constant but not hard rain. _"I'm being released tomorrow,"_ Shirasei's deep voice sounded off in her mid-teenage head. She hurried to the shinobi barracks since Shirasei had no living family left, it was where he stayed. Biting her plush lip, she hurried through the common halls, searching for his door. She entered without knock and closed it behind her absent mindedly, in the small, ten by ten foot front room she saw his shoes, indicating he was home. She removed her own shoes hastily, heart pounding, hardly thinking. She quickly pushed open the other door to find her crush sitting in bed, bandages removed, revealing many similiar looking, straight lined scars randomly on his forearms and chest. His thick hair was extra glossy from being rained on a good deal, clinging to his face and head more than normally. She entered a step, numbly, closing the door to but less than an inch behind her. He had his collared black and blue shirt she had managed to anonomously leave in his front room the previous night after her hospitol visit, unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up to allow the cool air to sooth his sore and battered body. He had been looking down, sitting alone. His face was pained looking with his glazed gaze cast at the ground from his futon**(2)**. He blinked over at her surprised, but the pain hadn't left his eyes nor had his shoulders stopped sagging.

"Jazlyn? What're you doing here? I don't really want any visitors right now..Tameiya just..turned me down.." he trailed off spiritlessly. She slowly walked over to him, trembling. He watched, not sure of what was going on when she didn't turn to leave. The smaller girl sat herself next to him numbly, staring up at his face. "What is it? Is Baku-sensei in trouble?" His sorrow seemed to be replaced with worry in an instant. She shook her head slowly, mind blank. Reaching a shaking hand up from the ground, she realized she had placed her trembling palm on his warm cheek that was normally hidden by his wavey blanket of hair, heating her cold hand and protecting it from the cold weather's effects. He gave her a surprised look as she slowly moved closer to him inch by inch, both entranced in silence. Hesitantly, Shirasei managed to sputter softly, "Ja..Jazlyn..?" Her bright eyes sparkled as her heart pounded quick and happily in her chest. Her breathing was quick, warm, cascading on his body.

She threw her arms around his neck, crushing his lips underneath her plush, pink ones. "Mmph!" His eyes widened in shock, hands up and out with his elbows bent, twitching in the air, unsure of what to do. _Oh please..don't turn me away..!_ She clutched his back desparately, pressing her soft, smaller body against his front, trying to come as close to him as she could. She never wanted to break away from him now that she was so close, showing him how she felt. She watched his widened eyes with her own panicked and desperate ones, whimpering pleadingly as she tried to kiss him more. Her stomach was turning, feeling giddy and slightly pleasant but uncomfortable. He trembled still surprised as she covered his lips. His eyes softened from the surprise and he lowered the lids until his eyes were almost closed, putting his hands on the backs of her shoulders. He tilted his head, pushing her lips apart with his own. Their hot, wet tongues intertwined, curling and rubbing against each other. They moaned into each other's mouths, filling the other's lungs whenever they did, trying to cling and pull the other's body as close as they could to their own with their arms.

Faintly Jazlyn saw herself removing his shirt absent mindedly as they passionately locked lips and tongues, her bright eyes almost shut like her crush's. She didn't stop herself as his shirt came off, and didn't stop him as she realized her own clothing was coming off in their frantic showings of affection. Panting, mind blank, she found herself on her hands and knees, turned away from him as the last of her clothes was pulled off her legs. She whimpered at him as he paused behind her, looking unsure. She lowered herself more to the ground, and raised her hips to him, eyes desparate as she stared at him wordlessly from behind her shoulder. She gasped, heart melting as she felt a pleasurable rubbing push into her. She clutched at the blankets underneath them as he clutched her, pressing his body against her back, rocking her with his hips. She trembled as he continued the ebbing waves inside of her lower torso, crying out and squealing softly sometimes when he made a surprisingly sharp wave inside of her until she felt a spasming movement inside of her, feeling wave after wave of hot fluid flow into her quickly.

He paused, panting hotly against the backs of her shoulders, resting his forehead on her neck. It was too soon, too short! She moved away from him, seeing his confused and tired face. She found herself pushing him onto his back, putting her legs on either side of his bared, hot, sweaty hips. He bobbed underneath her as she realized she was rocking herself slowly, back and fourth ontop of his prone body. She felt his fingers gripping her flanks as she panted, moaned, sweated ontop of him, hoping desparately she was returning the wonderful sensation to him. She hunched foreward, balancing herself by sliding her slender fingers into his thick, wavey hair and gripping his warm skull. Her lips trembled as she continued to please him and herself, until she felt it well up inside of herself. She shuddered, crying out softly, unintelligibly, like an animal as she felt her opening flutter and quake, gripping what was inside of her while releasing pleasant waves from deep within her small body. He winced with his eyes closed, shuddering himself as her body continued to react that way for a long time, slowing down gradually, both positioned rigidly. Her lip still trembling, she opened her eyes to look down at him, panting, slumping foreward some and sliding her small hands from his head to his shoulders.

He bit his lip, pushing the young, curvey girl onto her back and placing his arms under her shoulders, hands knitting with her wild, curly hair. Almost lost in what seemed a dream, she felt herself entered again, the pushing pleasure moving inside of her. He clung to her, pressing himself to her soft body as she arched her back, trying to get him in as deep as she could, get as much as the wild sensation as she could. She barely realized she was gasping, whimpering, not saying anything a person could understand. But he did instinctively. She knew he could tell all too well she wanted more. She clawed his back, pressed the sides of her thighs against him with her knees bent, thrashed. She could hardly recognize that he was panting hotly against her neck and ear, making deep, short, throaty sounds she knew deep down in her mind meant he was enjoying every moment of it. She suddenly felt panicked, her chest clamping, barely able to give soft, short squeaks as he began to tense up. Her eyes widened as she gazed over his bared shoulder, the imagery of his room's modest ceiling and walls sharpening. As one, their bodies shuddered and released hot fluids, she could feel his heart skipping beats inbetween her own doing the same as they pressed against each other thoughtlessly, trying to get as much of their fluids mixed together as they could for reasons they couldn't have guessed and didn't want to. She had lost her sense of time, her sense of herself. All she had known in the frantic, desperate, mindless fantasy was the uncomfortable but addicting, controlling sensations of pleasure. She panted, staring at her lover with an empty mind. He had layed himself down next to her on his side, eyes half-closed. She moaned softly, trembling, wanting his body still, even if neither of them had the energy. With much effort, she pressed herself against his front, softly biting at his lips as they panted slower and slower on eachother's naked chests and necks. His forehead rested against her's after he returned the gesture. She didn't realize until the image infront of her was shrunk, surrounded by black, swirling away with her awareness that it had all actually happened.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) 'Replacement'**

**(2) Japanese style bedding that is layed flatly on the ground without a box spring. Consists of a mat and blankets.**


	24. Chp 24: It Can All Come Crashing Down

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world of her memories swirled away from her, sadly, regrettably. Jazlyn fluttered open her bright eyes, the plain room of a hospitol coming into view. She gasped softly, and sat up. Blunky looked up from oiling one of his countless throwing kunai, and hastily jammed it into one of the many openings in his clothing, one at the inside of his right forearm in particular.

"Young miss, you truly had me worried with how long you were unconscious," he informed her.

"Nevermind me," she groaned, sitting up. "Where is my damn husband, I gotta scold that stupid man.." she said, getting out of the bed, groggy and faint still, her taught abdomen aching still.

When Blunky did not answer her, she felt worried. "Blinky, is he alright? Where is he?" she asked quickly. The troll shook his large head slowly a few times.

"He can't have any visitors - not even his wife. We've only been in Konoha around twenty minutes, dear." She felt a bit of the uneasiness leave, but not much. He was still away from her, still dying, still struggling at best.

"Where's Naruto-kun? Hinata-chan? Jiraiya-sama?" she pressed worriedly.

"They're next door. Hinata is fine, but Mr. Jiraiya was fatally wounded and struggling.." Jazlyn started. "Naruto is also unconscious but hardly hurt. He seems to have an unbelieveable regenerative process that I'm afraid to admit shames my own troll racial," he let off softly.

"What..what happened?" She grabbed the low cut 'V' shaped, stiff, black collar of the uniform of her teammate, pulling him close to her when he didn't answer immediately. "Blinky!"

The large, blue, clumsy looking man adjusted his monocle gingerly. He took a deep breath, and began to explain.

Blunky's heart raced, his muscles burning from the strain of carrying the two bodies. He noticed up ahead two still figures standing side by side. _How did they get infront of me? Wait.._ He squinted his eyes as he rapidly approached the two. At first, due to the size difference he had thought it was Kisame with his white wrapped Samehada over his shoulder standing next to Itachi, but it turned out to be the white maned, broad Jiraiya and little Hinata. He came to a halt.

"N..Naruto? Why're you in the three-tails form?" Jiraiya pressed instantly, looking at the strange sight of him struggling while being carried. "What happened to Jazlyn-chan?"

Blunky had managed to catch his breath a bit. "Akatsuki.."

Jiraiya instantly frowned, moving past him in his strutlike walk. "I see, they must still be here if you had to come ahead."

"Ero-senin! Don't go too!" Naruto blurted, panicked. Jiraiya halted and jumped a little, as if he had just been zapped.

"What, why not Naruto?" he said edgily.

"I..." Naruto found himself placed on his feet, and stared at the ground.

"I see, your friends are in danger and you couldn't help. I told you about shirking your responsibilities coming back to bite you in the ass, Naruto. You don't gamble with your life when you avoid training," Jiraiya said with a frown.

_It's not fair.._ tears ran down his cheeks as he glared at the ground. _Why is it in me and not even good enough so I can help my friends? How can I risk trying to gain more control over it if I risk killing the only kind of family I've ever known - Ero-senin?_

"Na...Naruto..kun?" Hinata poked out timidly from where she stood. Naruto started, heart pounding loudly in his ears, unable to think. "What..what happened to you, Naruto-kun?" She said in her soft, hesitant voice. She was taking in the new, strange look to her love.

"I.." He didn't know how to explain himself. _She'll become afraid of me like everyone else once she knows. She'll hate me. I'll never see her again, never get to enjoy her company, never get to write her any poetry.._

"Naruto is the container for the nine-tailed demon fox that attacked Konoha fifteen years ago," Jiraiya said soberly. Naruto's heart broke to pieces.

"Ero-senin, how could you!" he screamed. How could Jiraiya do that to him? It had to be the worst thing someone could do.

"How else are you going to explain your appearance," he retorted immediately, knitting his eyebrows. Naruto's shoulders sunk, ashamed at his outburst and attempt to conceal something so flamboyantly obvious.

"Che..you kids really need to learn to be more honest.." Jiraiya turned preparing to leave but his eyes widened. He shoved Naruto aside as a very large blur came between them. Dust exploded into the air as Naruto was bowled over. As the dust cleared, Naruto saw the towering figure of Kisame glaring down at him, preparing to reach for him. Jiraiya was sprawled away, looking shell shocked. His chest was covered in a coating of red liquid. Hinata and Blunky could not be seen, and Jazlyn's limp form was laying crumpled on the dirt road a bit away.

"So close but so far away," the tall shinobi mused, grabbing Naruto by the scruff of the jacket. The blonde nin clenched his teeth, trying to pry the iron grip of his foe. "But first.." He flicked his wrist and the heavy looking Samehada twirled away on his side axis like a boomerang, crashing through the trees, leaving a trail of half-trees in its wake. There was a different crunching sound at the end of the cascading noise as Naruto saw the clumsy looking body of Blunky drop slowly from the leaves, above and behind the falling top halves of the tree shafts. The giant weapon was falling with him near his ribs, and his own sophisticated bow was held limply in his stubby grip. One of the small arrows drifted down with him. "As for you," he pulled back his hand he had extended to toss his weapon for a knock out punch.

"Naruto-kun! I won't let you hurt him!" With a look of steady determination, the veins near her eyes already pushing the skin's surface, Hinata was flying through the air at Kisame's back, her right arm bent and tucked at her chest, palm fuming with blue chakra as it was held ready for her Juuken strike. Her indigo hair flared behind her as she closed the distance. The tall shinobi raised an eyebrow briefly as he noted her aeriel approach from over his shoulder, before spinning around and chucking Naruto's small body into the startled face of his girlfriend, tangling them in the air with a shock and cry of pain.

Kisame's towering figure was behind the suspended girl when Naruto realized what had happened, and she shot into the ground from his tough arm crashing into her upper back. Naruto saw that Hinata didn't move as he tumbled away, breaking out in a cold sweat, fear gripping his heart, chilling the back of his mind. "Seems like all your friends are going that way," Kisame mused with a small laugh.

Naruto's eyes rolled back as he trembled in rage, hunched over, making guttaral, animal noises. His teeth ground, showing the sharp canines. A glistening trail of slobber fell from his stretched, twitching lips. The veins in his temples pushed against his forehead, his forearms, the backs of his hands and fingers, his neck as the youth shuddered. The birthmarks on his cheeks widened and stretched, the shadows under his eyes darkened underneath the bloodshot white, his wirey muscles strained and increased in mass slowly, in waves of pulses that matched his straining heart beat. The glow around him went from a dull glow to bright as fire.

His mind flared with blinding red. His heartbeat pounded evenly, but sounded far away. _"Keep thinking, Naruto. Remember who you are as you delve deeper into the dark," Jiraiya instructed in his mind, but he saw him sprawled on his back vividly just like moments before, chest covered in red._ The call for blood, insatiable and wild filled him.

Behind him grew a fourth, red chakra tail.

_"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, kid," The man's gentle and deep voice said. Naruto looked over at him numbly from the white hospital bed. "You're acting like it didn't mean anything if you lost. You learned, didn't you?" Shirasei smiled softly at him from behind his half-curtain of wavey hair, the swords' hilts sticking out from behind his black and blue checkered shoulders. He saw his friend run away from him, disappearing to certain death down the foreboading dirt road._ Naruto felt the pain leek out of his sightless eyes, streaking hotly down his cheeks.

A fifth tail unfurled near the back of his head. _"Live your life in such a way that you won't regret it if you died the next moment," Jiraiya told him. But Jiraiya might have died already._ The teenager could feel his body shaking not from strain, but from endless rage. _ "Two bowls of miso chashu," Jriaiya ordered in a calm tone. Naruto sat next to the white maned man, staring at the counter-top in a slouched manner. He hung his neck and drooped his shoulders. The little nin felt pressure along the back of his shoulders and below his neck, ending with a firm clasp on his left shoulder as Jiraiya leaned over, patting his furthest arm. The small nin threw his arms around Jiraiya's large torso, squeezing with his face against the older shinobi's broad chest. Naruto clung to Jiraiya without a sound in the crisp, cool night, as if the man would disappear forever if he let go. He couldn't help but shake from the ache in his chest, and feel hot streaks that mirrored the red markings on Jiraiya's face etch on his younger, whiskered cheeks._

A sixth chakra tail uncurled itself. _"How's your life been, Naruto? It's been a long time now," his friend asked in his deep voice. It was hollow. "It's been good. Especially this," Naruto grinned up at the wavey haired nin, holding out a pinky._ Naruto hiccupped a sob painfully, more pain flowing down his cheeks_. "Are you suicidal? You need to use at least seven or eight tails!" he yelled in a near scream up at Naruto from his half-kneeling position, panicked._

A seventh tail rose behind him. The light continued to intensify, becoming blinding. The red haze in Naruto's mind threatened to take control, but was halted abruptly_. "I see the weight of this fight is on my shoulders, it's alright, kid," Shirasei said softly, weakly, wheezing wetly. He gave a pained smile that the taller boy could see from behind his friend's shoulder. He saw Shirasei cough in pain and spit out red liquid, eyes clenched shut. "I'm sorry I couldn't teach you more, Ototo..." Shirasei's checkered back and wavey lockes that poured onto his shoulders faded away from his view._

_Hinata lay face down, prone, disheveled, only a few feet away from him. She lied still, save the unmerciful wind tugging at her loose, silky, indigo hair.._

An eighth tail appeared as he growled in anguish, inhumanely. His red, slit like pupils rolled back into focus as he threw himself at the sweat covered Kisame. His steel-like claw was closing in at the tall man's chest, frozen in place with shock and icy fear. The sound of what may have been a lion came out of his throat as he sped at him.

Snapping out of it, Kisame managed to desparately throw himself away on one foot, wobbling as the might of the blow was still felt purely as energy in the air, Naruto's claws tearing the fabric of his cloak in several inch wide gashes that went across his entire chest. Furrows of blood lightly sprayed from the openings of the torn fabric. Behind where Kisame had stood which was now infront of the smaller nin, there was the defeaning crunch of countless trees shattering to pieces sharply.

With a strangled gasp, Kisame leapt back, trying to impose trees between the two. They exploded to flinders infront of his eyes as Naruto shot himself through them at the despised shinobi, irritably throwing one or the other arm to the side to clear his path. Kisame stumbled when he landed, his foot contacting something. Without thinking, he grabbed the giant Samehada and braced for impact, Naruto a moment away, turning the flat of the blade at the beastial looking boy and putting his shoulder behind it, his sharklike teeth clenched in mind numbing anxiety. The solid energy of a car ramming into his shoulder and chest plowed through him, disorientating him as his sword quivered and threatened to break from the stress.

His large body lost contact with the ground and began to slam through trees, parting their thick trunks like plywood. His grip on his giant sword loosened with each wave of pain that ebbed through his back. After a moment, he realized he was slumped against randomly shaped and sized wood on the ground. Head swimming, the world churning beneath his feet, Kisame wobbily stood up but not straight, shoulders dropping and head hanging to at an angle. He clenched his eyes shut to mash the split images of the world together. When he opened them a moment later, he saw the screaming face of Naruto in his own, then saw black laced with purple and pink stars, a sharp, sweet scent playing at his nostrils. He was moving, he didn't know where. Was it up? He felt dizzy, like he was falling and turning even though he wasn't. The black throbbed away into spinning blue with white splotches as he felt the wind tear at his face. He wanted to vomit, but for some reason was trying not to.

The tall man reeled as he began to slow down. The crazed boy flashed into his view as he pulled back his arm over exagerattedly as he floated at Kisame's chin level. His black and orange jacket parted in a large, long gash. The familiar sensation of stubborn muscle and softer tissues being forcibly, easily torn reached the giant shinobi's mind and eased his nerves. He had not felt that friendly experience for too long now.

Kisame's eyes bulged when he saw that the bared skin was mutilated but quickly closed, steaming, Naruto's jacket parted widely from one hip to the opposite shoulder. A cold sweat broke out anew on the older shinobi's face and shoulders as he realized the swing had left his body completely open to the monster infront of him, something he hadn't bothered to think about before committing to such an attack. He felt the crushing weight of something small crash into his chest, sending the world flying past him as he fell backwards slowly in his mind. A few long moments later, his back colided with something, he didn't know what. His body was a mess, his head was swimming instead of thinking. _Am I trying to get up..? Why am I trying to get up...? Can I lift Samehada..? Why should I lift Samehada..?_ The sword stayed angled in his hand, dragging on the ground as he swayed dangerously to one side, then the other.

Naruto was already there as he finished his mental question. In a cry of mindless fury, he brought his two fists down like mallets onto the broad shoulders of the wavering shinobi. Kisame crumpled, shooting face first into the dirt. Dust erupted from the cracks that stretched out all around them unpredictably. Tall curtains of thick, light brown, earthy dust exploded high into the air, enclosing a huge, uncontaminated area around the two for maybe a mile in diameter. The sealed off air was tense and crisp. The blonde nin growled in his throat as he raised a clawed, bloodied hand while glowering balefully at the tall and disheveled form in the still quaking ground. Subconsciously, something nagged at the back of Naruto's mind, pausing his motion. He snapped his neck, the world a spinning blur then stopping a moment later, sharp and vivid as ever.

Itachi's face was no longer cool, calm, emotionless and collected. His lips were parted and eyes widened in shock, seeing his crumpled companion lying at the feet of the insane teenager, possibly even dead. This boy had caused the land to rumble violently under the stress of his strike, he'd never seen strength in someone so young. He felt the clutch of fear grip his heart and numb his mind, so strange and unknown to the Uchiha. He shuddered as he stood still, unable to move. He knew he was afraid for his life. His lips quivered as he exhaled shakily.

Jaw quivering, more slobber pouring out onto his chin, Naruto hunched his iron muscles as he turned to face Itachi. "KYAHHHHH!" rang out from Naruto in a short, cracking, high-pitched scream. He shot himself at the black cloak, sparsely coated with red clouds. Itachi threw himself to the ground pathetically, covering his head as the frenzied child flew over him, exploding into the forrest with the thick, defeaning sound of much crunching wood in a fanned wave behind him. Itachi ran off balanced to the body of his partner, grabbing him and his unwiedly weapon, jumping into the woods. He heard the unintelligible yammering and harsh, loud panting of a teenager behind him, chasing him, quickly closing the distance as he carried the large body. Wood crushed and fell steadily, almost like a gargantuan creature stomping after the Uchiha. Inevitable death was getting closer every moment, making as much noise as possible. His end was at hand.

_Every blacked out in the blonde's vision. Hinata layed crumpled in the ground, face down, unmoving. The rushing greens and earthy browns returned._ Naruto's eyes widened, and he let the figures disappear into the tree tops as he turned away, rushing frantically to return to his fallen friends. His friends were still there. All the sweltering heat left Naruto's senses, replaced by a cold chill. His entire body was a mess. His muscles felt like someone had run scalpels through it without breaking the skin, the joints ached, the bones pulsated with dull pain, even his teeth. The blonde shinobi's skin felt frost burnt. His body kept spasming sporadically as he tried moving. Jiraiya had managed to sit himself up with his teeth ground and one eye shut due to pain, but was still bleeding freely from a large, diagonal gash across his broad chest. The attack had been so wide that it tore into the gi to shape its path, despite there being a largely uncovered area. Hinata was trembling, still on her face. Naruto rushed over to the two, but felt his body shutting down as he turned Hinata over.

"Hi..na..ta..cha..n.." She looked like she had just had the wind knocked out of her. Her beautiful eyes fluttered open, registering Naruto. She smiled softly, and his heart melted while the world did as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	25. Chp 25: Startling Discoveries

Time to delve into a muchly neglected character.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto's feet didn't lift very high. The ground was wet, covered in a couple of inches of lukewarm water. The air was damp, moist, humid almost. He felt calm as his feet sloshed in the water, following the large corridors. He seemed to have a predetermined path, ignoring certain turn offs. After a long while, he found the light dimming as he advanced, and a small sense of dread tingled at the back of his mind. He continued however. He came to a giant room, a room he was very familiar with now. The gargantuan gate infront of him was parted, hanging loosely on its corner, the paper strip that said 'seal' on it had long ago been broken and unleased the monster that it had held, freeing it to run rampant inside of the growing boy.

It had not, however. Sometimes at night, when Naruto had gone to shut off his mind and body, he would find himself in this room, confronted by the inner demon of his soul. She rarely said much but the little she did was typically haughty and demanding. She was curvey and slender in a sense that rivaled Tsunade. The long haired orange-red head had nine tails that were longer and almost wider than she was sprouting and fanning out from her tailbone. Despite her freedom, the Kiyubii typically stayed in this dark corner of his mind and soul, hiding in the dark it was so familiar with. Infront of the opening was a soft, red, comfortable couch, large enough for Naruto to stretch out on and more. He sat down on it, waiting for the fox to make its appearance. From the dark, as he had known it would, two red eyes opened, glowing at him. The slits were animal like, their size was that of a woman's.

"What is it, Naruto-kun..?" The mature woman's voice called out to him in the dark. "Why have you come to see me?"

The blonde looked at his feet. When he gave no answer, Naruto felt her slink through the darkness on her hands and feet, her posture like an animal's. Fearful of the light, but braving into it hesitantly, timidly, the creature slunk around the gigantic bars and curled on its side, next to his seat. Its eyes glowered up at him with an expressionless face. Some time passed as the two stared at each other. For the first time, Naruto was not uncomfortable with the immensely powerful entity.

"Why haven't you taken control after all this time? I've left the door open for you when I managed to unlock the first gate and grow my fourth chakra tail, never locking the gate again," he said almost sadly. The entity stared up at him, then curled one of its long, soft, almost feathery ended tails around and caressed the young boy's cheek.

"You've grown on me, Naruto-kun," it simply stated. He felt himself smiling softly, not sure why.

After a long pause, he pressed. "Still..it means your freedom. You could return to destroying everything like before, doing what you want, being free of this place again." He cast his blue eyes over to the fire like red ones.

Without much delay he was answered with, "I'd rather not."

"Why?"

"I've seen beauty as you've grown. I might be trapped here, but I was always able to see and experience the things you have, remember?"

Naruto blinked in surprise at the Kyuubi**(1)**. "R..really?"

"Yes. At first I was hateful and angry, vindictive and inclined to kill without remorse, but that's because it was all I ever experienced from people when you were a small boy. You never held it against them though, you ignored it and clung to the opposite emotions. I didn't understand at first, it didn't feel correct. I tried to push you to retaliation many times, but you wouldn't. I was confused for a long time. However, I was eventually able to find peace as you did. Find wisdom as you did. Find love as you did. Respect determination and yearn for softer, cherishable emotions you had held dearly since your earliest memories. I'm sure you've always wondered why I first attacked and tried to destroy Konohagakure?" It let out evenly. Naruto nodded, stunned.

"When I came into existance, I didn't know why. All I understood within myself was I had power. The first things I experienced in this world was light, pain, the cold air in my lungs and on my skin and fur, confusion and then hate. I felt hate and fear, not knowing what they were, but they angered me. I didn't understand my feelings, I couldn't control my body, I had no train of thought. I went towards the highest concentration of these feelings that sparked a reaction from my being - it was Konoha. Not because everyone was like that, just it had the highest concentration of advanced life forms and thoughts, energy patterns than anywhere else and therefore also the highest concentration of those sorts of emotions that I was so keen to." The Kyuubi inclined her head, her eyes closed.

Naruto blinked on, stunned. "You..you couldn't help yourself?"

"No. I was only reacting. I was like a newborn, only I was capable of actions and feeling the emotional waves projected from people. I attacked Konoha because the sensations that welled up inside of myself told me to on an instinctive, mindless level. I was drawn to a flame I wanted to put out desparately but not knowing why," it said, almost sadly.

"But still..you don't have to destroy, you could live on..if you just took control."

"I could, but I don't want to. I want to see you grow old and happy. I've watched you grow up all this time, remember? I've seen your heartfelt trials and accomplishments. I saw you never give up. I've seen you grow up under Jiraiya and Shirasei, and on your own for so long. I've seen you falling in love with the adorable Hyuuga Hinata. And I want you to live a full life, even if it means I can't leave. It's why I helped you when you needed it most just now," the entity admitted. "I wanted to help protect what beauty you had found, that you helped me to find and understand. I know sometimes this was a bit rough, such as when I forced myself upon you, made love and experimented with pleasure," Naruto's cheeks flushed. "But for a long time now I've not been just a creation and sensation of hate, anger and fury. I've been curious and learning, and appreciating all these different facets of life that I've been discovering through your eyes."

Naruto smiled softly, truly thankful inside. "Kyuubi-san, thank you.." He said, looking at her. The curled, voluptuous, grown woman smiled at him from her low laying position.

"At first I was hesitant about giving you my strength. I remembered the rampage I had gone on fifteen years ago, and all the destruction I had caused. All the beauty I had taken from the world. I didn't even understand the strength myself up until just now - when you balanced it out with loving memories. I had been hesitant all this time to grant you my power, until on the path to Konoha you showed me why you needed it. And now I feel I can grant you my strength when you need me, safely, because you won't lose yourself to the hate. Because you would only want the strength to protect the precious things in life," it said soberly. Naruto nodded once, not knowing what to say. "I'm grateful I was placed inside of someone like you. If I was in someone else, I may never have seen these things, changed, found appreciation in existance. I might not even be able to form a sentence, as sad as it sounds," The Kyuubi theorized dejectedly.

"Thank you.." Naruto said softly.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Kyuubi returned. The two smiled softly at each other. "Naruto-kun," it hesitated.

"Yes, Kyuubi-san?"

"..please..no matter what happens..don't summon the power I've bestowed upon you out of anger again.." she pleaded. "You may turn into what I was once...and never return. It's a sensation that blanks out the rest of your personality."

"I won't," he promised without a moment's thought.

"Okay..I am just worried about losing you after the last time you summoned so much of my strength. You almost didn't return to normal because you began the process angered. Though you were able to let go of your hated prey and return to your friends, and I'm a bit relieved that you have that kind of control..just there is one more level of strength and with it, nearly irresistable madness that you have not experienced yet.." She looked up at him both with respect and a mournful look. "I don't want to lose my Naruto-kun. You were the first person I ever cared about in this world.." her tail that had been placed on his whiskered cheek petted his upper arm and neck.

"You won't. I..I hope I never have to ask that much power from you..but..I think if I ever did, I could handle it.." Naruto said while staring at the calm, murkily glassed water at the foot of the couch. She sighed from his side.

The Kyuubi winced tensely as if in great pain, then abruptly said in a near sob, "Naruto-kun, you have to return to the conscious world now. You're needed. But I will see you when you fall asleep tonight - I know you will need me in one way or another.." she said knowingly, mysteriously, and he thought maybe hinting at something that involved wrestling. Naruto gave a wry smile.

"Okay..and thank you again, Kyuubi-san. See you.." He stood up and the dim, wet world around him swirled away.

Naruto awoken to the simple and unfortunately familiar setting of a simple hospitol bed and room. He felt excessively heavy on his chest, and sat up a little. He saw the indigo top of Hinata, leaning over from her chair with her heavy chest and slender arms thrown out lazily across his body with her small hands on his shoulders, breathing softly. He was surprised to see the tall form of the curvey, blonde Tsunade, orange eyes glistening as she looked out his night-time window. The dim light showed him she was leaning against the wall, arms folded across her huge, straining bust, lost in troubled thoughts.

"Obaachan..?" Naruto blinked, looking over from his bed to her. Her eyes portrayed the look of her heart skipping a beat, and that she was unsure what to do or feel. She looked over at him numbly.

"Naruto.." she began, still not sure what to say or do, as if she had been dreading this moment.

"Where is everyone?" He managed to say slowly. "How long has it been? Is everybody okay..?" He asked slowly enough for her to cut in any time she wanted, but she didn't do so. She only gave a pained look from her large, orange eyes. "Obaachan? What's wrong?"

She closed her eyes, shuddering softly. "Jiraiya's in a stable condition. Hanshoumaru needs rest but is fine. Blunky is up and about, so is Jazlyn, to an extent.." Naruto sat up, causing Hinata's limp form to slide down his front and into his lap.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's..she's in shock..a..a bit.." Tsunade said, stumbling on her words.

"From what?" Naruto's heart was thundering in his ears.

"...your friend passed away - her husband, Shirasei Fang.." Tsunade said slowly, trying to find the safest way to say it. _"Hey, hey! Is that Naruto? Watch over that shinobi while he stays in our country, understood?" Tsunade said quickly, almost getting up from her seat at the back of the black and blue checkered shirt across the room from her, trying to see if a certain shorter, blonde nin was on the other side. "Yatta!" Naruto jumped for joy, pumping his arm. How unexpected, but then again it _was_ Naruto. It's what he was known for. _Tsunade trembled at the memory with her large eyes closed. _She saw the blonde nin animatedly poking for attention at the older, quiet, young man as they walked. It seemed like they were nearly opposites. He was irritated, but didn't yell at the hyperactive kid. She could tell they were good friends._

Naruto's eyes twitched into shaking and watered, his heart clenching inside of him. _The Kyuubi winced tensely as if in great pain, then abruptly said in a near sob, "Naruto-kun...I will see you when you fall asleep tonight - I know you will need me in one way or another..."_ Kyuubi told him again in his mind. _Did..did you know that his life force went out, Kyuubi-san..?_ Naruto felt his heart's pain flow from his eyes. Naruto shoved Hinata aside, sitting her upright roughly in her chair. She stirred, the action waking her. He forcefully threw himself out of bed and to the taller woman infront of him. "How could you just let him die like that? I thought you were the best medical ninja in the world! Why? Why did he have to die?" His voice choked with emotion, one hand clenched near his chest, the other thrown out from his shoulder. When she wouldn't open her eyes, keeping her head tilted and arms folded across her straining chest, the teenager grabbed her upper sleeves and shook her, forcing her large eyes open from the shock of it. She shuddered, her breath quavering.

"Naruto.." Tsunade said softly, compassionately, shaking as her orange eyes shaking with moisture at him. Hinata's eyes fluttered open softly. "..when Hanshoumaru brought him to me, he was dangling by a thread. He hung on like that for an hour or two, then finally gave up. He wouldn't return. It's as if he had a choice to make and decided it was his time in the end," she said, light flickering in her eyes from them welling up more with tears. "..I'm so sorry, Naruto..if he had come maybe twenty minutes earlier...ten even..I could've saved him..his wounds were not fatal but had gone untreated for so long, and...he had strained himself so much...I'm sorry..I'm so sorry..." She shook and sobbed quietly to herself as she leaned against the shadowed wall.

Naruto trembled. _This is a bad dream, right? It can't be real. I don't believe it! It couldn't have happened! Why am I not waking up? Wake up, Naruto!_ But he knew he had just came from the dream world. He knew this was reality. He felt hot streams trace down his whiskered cheeks. "_I told you about shirking your responsibilities coming back to bite you in the ass, Naruto. You don't gamble with your life when you avoid training." Jiraiya said with a frown at the blonde nin from down his broad frame. He turned to leave down the dirt road and his scolding expression instantly changed to desparate surprise._

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata's soft voice came out hesitantly to him, akin to a coo so much that it helped ease some of his pain away, but not much. He turned to her, grief stricken. She got up, reaching out to him a little, slowly as she took a step towards him. But he didn't want that right now, did he? He wasn't sure honestly. He turned and stormed out of the room, the visions blurred, not really knowing where he was going, not knowing why he didn't want anyone's comfort, especially her's. He eventually found himself on the cool, breezy roof. He cried and cried, not even being able to think coherently. It was a long time before he realized he was numb and cold, hugging his knees and sitting on his bottom, rocking himself as he grieved alone. Below his hanging face, the cement of the rooftop was heavily coated in salted drops. He felt empty inside his head, his heart, his stomach, but didn't want to do anything about it. He didn't want to do anything. "Naruto-kun.." Hinata's gentle voice reached his ears and he looked at her, pain all over his face. She approached him and pressed her small, warm, soft body against his side, enclosing her slender arms around him. When he gave a silent hiccup from a sob, her arms slid around him tighter a few more inches.

She didn't know what to say, but hoped that nothing needed to be said. Naruto trembled underneath her for a long time, until he eventually stopped shaking. He was still cold though as she helped him up and lead him back to his room. Tsunade was gone. Naruto didn't want to stay, but if he wanted to see his friend one last time, he had to since he had no idea where to go to see the lifeless body. He wanted to say 'good bye' for once. He got back into bed as Hinata watched him, her pale, jewel like eyes glittering softly in the dim light.

She stared at him for a long time, and he returned the gaze, mind numb. "Naruto-kun..can..can I stay here..with you tonight..?" She said softly. He nodded after a pause, and layed his head back down. The teenage girl sat herself back down how she had originally, and scooted the chair up to his bed, sprawling her soft, warm, comforting heavy chest over his and spreading her slender arms across his body. He still felt the warm water drain from the sides of his eyes and roll into the pillow. He didn't know how long it was until the dim ceiling blurred away.

On the couch infront of the giant bars, he found himself cuddled by the warm, fluffy body of the Kyuubi. He buried his whiskered face in her many tails, weeping all night as he clutched the puffy orange cloud to his quivering body.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) 'Nine tails'**


	26. Chp 26: The End of Dreams

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning came and life went on without pause. Naruto lay there with the warm, heavy sensation of Hinata sprawled across his chest. He stared up at the ceiling as the light slowly metamorphesised his room. Tsunade entered as the yellow shades filled his room. The blonde nin turned his gaze over to the doorway.

"They're..going to take his body back to his home. Did you want to see him one last time..?" She asked hesitantly. Naruto closed his eyes and with a nod, sighed. He set Hinata upright who began her awakening motions, putting on his clothes and shoes. His hand hesitated over the heavy, encased blade of Sasuke's Kusanagi, but after a moment, placed it across his shoulder, strap a diagonal line across his chest.

He didn't know how long they walked, how many times they turned, if anyone else even saw them. Naruto was lost in his thoughts as Hinata walked next to him, concerned but afraid to bother him. Tsunade eventually lead them to a dead end with Blunky's giant but not filling frame coming out of the door at the end of the short hall. He closed his eye and inclined his head before moving past them, his stiff white hair almost sleeked back but sticking off of his head at angles brushing the ceiling lightly. Inside they came across the half circle of bodies collected around the still bed. Jazlyn had her elbows at her chest, hands over her lower face as she shook with sporadic sobs, staring at the still young man. Next to her, the shorter, wider, broader form of her brother looked at his former student as he clutched both of Shirasei's thin swords in his right hand. Jiraiya was bare chested but with stained wrappings wound around him, very similiar to how Shirasei had always wrapped his own chest. The latter shinobi's black and blue shirt was folded over the edge of a nearby chair. The three cast their gaze at the new entrants, as if they were intruders coming upon something sacred initially.

Naruto looked numbly at the still bed. Shirasei's timeless, young face was paler than Naruto had ever seen it and contrasted with the shocks of his wavey black locks that spilled out onto the white pillow and sheets even more so than in life. He realized he had moved next to the bed, looking down at the smaller man. He had felt movement and saw the solid body of Hanshoumaru next to him, his feral, bright yellow eyes glowing up at him from underneath his broad rimmed hat. Gone was his usual crinkled smile and friendly demeanor.

Naruto felt something nudge him near the waist. It pained him to do so, to do anything but he looked down. In the short, rocky arm of Hanshoumaru was the long Oboenagi being held out on its side to him. "I know my student. He wanted you to have this.**(1)** We're keeping Tameiya's katana with him though," he said soberly, in his gravel like voice. Naruto placed his fingers around the heavy, thin line, the weight making his heart sink. Without thinking he found himself placing it across his shoulder like how his friend had, crossing his swords with the longer one angled further to have the handle be behind the joint of his shoulder. He wanted to sigh, cry, yell, something, anything. But he could only shallowly breathe. His anguish was interrupted by the sounds of someone else's behind him, and he turned slowly to see Jazlyn's slim fingers trembling, angled, fingertips pressed into her cheeks. From between the red nailed digits, Naruto could see her wide, disbelieving large, yellow eyes, tears clinging to the bottoms and leaking out over her cheeks.

"Jazlyn.." he began, but didn't know where to go. She hiccupped, and looked at him, shaking. She swallowed unevenly.

"It's not your fault," he heard in a shakey whisper from her. It made him clench his eyes shut softly, eyelids quiverring.

"A lot of the time he would talk to me about you. You and Hinata..you were precious to him, he was happy for what you were finding and creating.." she said numbly, not really knowing what was coming out from between her lips.

Naruto tensed and winced as he felt pain etch through his heart. "Is that so..?" is all he could find himself saying, as if talking nonchalantly would bring his friend mysteriously back from the dead.

"Yes..he was always mooning over you..Shirasei had no living family since he was young..he cherished the relationship..he felt he could raise you like he wasn't.." she trembled on, not even knowing if anyone was listening. "..our daughter is too young for him to have any kind of memories like those with.." Naruto felt a sudden chill spread throughout his entire body. "..she's too young to even know his name.." she fell silent.

Naruto put his hand over his heart, clenching it as he shook. He glared at the contrasting head on the white sheets and pillow, the stupid waves nearly curling as they trailed away from the head they were attatched to. "How..how could you just throw it all away like that..?" he growled at the person who could not respond. "Why..how could you just die like that!" He shouted. _"She does that a lot, at least when she's around me." Naruto commented, looking over to his side where friend stood, the sunset lighting cast over them from the balcony in a golden sort of glow. _

_"Oh?" This seemed to perk Shirasei's interest a lot. He grinned for the first time at Naruto and held out his pinky to the young nin. "Is it because of this?"_ Naruto clenched his jaw, jerking his head to the side with his eyes closed. _The young man confessed something heartfelt and earnest to the blonde nin. "The power of a creater is greater than that of a destroyer." _

Naruto shook. "How could you just fade away from everyone you were so important to..?"

"Doesn't have to be forgotten," Hanshoumaru's beastial voice rumbled next to the youth. He looked at him, startled, having forgotten the compact body was next to him. The small man was staring at his student. "He can live on if he is remembered. He would've told you the same - I taught him."

_Itachi stood with his legs apart, hands to the side uselessly. His eyes were wide and shaking, as was the rest of his body. At the blonde nin's feet was the limp form of the giant Kisame._ Naruto bit his lip, giving himself a sharp pain. He felt something warm and wet drip down his chin as he turned to Jiraiya who jolted slightly, then grimaced in pain.

"Ero-senin, I have to complete my training now." Jiraiya sighed and looked off to the side, shaking his head.

"Naruto, there's nothing left for me to teach you." The blonde felt as if he had been electrecuted and doused with a bucket. Heat rose above his neck.

"What? How can that be!" He demanded, hunching over while facing the old nin.

"You grew eight tails. You were in control. You came back instead of chasing Itachi and Kisame, and became normal of your own free will. There's nothing left for me to train you for, coach you through, teach you," Jiraiya said soberly. "You always had it in you, just you were afraid and hesitant to overcome the obstacles because the price you may have had to pay.."

He could feel his fingers tightening on his pant legs. "Then..this really is all my fault..?" No one wanted to say anything, or could find it in themself to say anything. The silence pressed down on the room relentlessly. _ "Just remember though that if you keep that attitude up, things are going to turn out to be some real disappointments.." Shirasei slapped down the younger nin's writing pad into his lap before he began to shrink with his back turned to him._

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata said worriedly. Naruto pushed his way back out of the room, blood boiling at himself, his uselessness, his irresponsibility, his loss. He didn't want to see anyone, run into anyone. He pushed through the stairwell and exitted a side door. He was jolted by the sight of a tall, long, angular figure propped against the side of the building. He had his slender, clumsy looking arms folded across his slim chest with his thick and almost stubby fingers splayed across the tilted upper arms. Blunky turned his beady eye from the rising sun to Naruto's sudden appearance at his side.

"I dare wager you've said your 'goodbyes' to our dear, departed friend?" He inquired. Naruto's shoulders tensed and shook as he glared at the ground. "I know what Shirasei would tell you." He said strangely after Naruto didn't know how long. The blonde nin looked up at the tall form startled. "He'd tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself - bluntly put but accurate." Blunky adjusted his monocle, knowingly. "I'm quite certain he'd say such selfish behavior shames him and yourself," He said sagely.

"I know..but why did he throw so much away..?" Naruto just didn't understand.

"Having been graced with his acquaintance so long, I'm confident it's because he had too big of a heart." Naruto looked at the troll incredulously. "I'd be fairly certain to say he had a hard time trying to give up everything he had gained in his short life, but protecting the things he'd created, including your relationship (rrrrrrelationship) with young miss Hyuuga Hinata was important to him because he cared about your happiness." Naruto felt new tears coming out. "That man always carried a guilty conscious for damaging my eye. Who knows exactly why he did what he did, but I know a fair part of it was because he was thinking of your happiness over his own." Blunky sighed, closing his eyes. After a while, he said "what will you do now, young man?" Blunky gazed down at Naruto curiously.

"I..I don't know..I don't know what I could do even..why is life so unfair to take away the best people so soon.." Naruto trembled in anger. He remembered the same thing had happened to Sarutobi early in his life, but the Hokage had lived a long, full, ripe life. He had grandchildren. He had watched his offspring grow happily..

"I am sorry to inform you Naruto, but nothing you do will bring him back." Naruto sagged more. "Life is just unfair like that. Death is rarely (rrrarely) ever poetic or just," Blunky fixed his monocle slowly. "You can ask my siblings Blanky, Blenky, Blonky and Blynki. No 'Blinky,' though - my parents died before they could make one. They all went the same way as Shirasei and my parents when I was much younger." Blunky raised a white eyebrow. "Are you going to avenge your friend?" He inquired, after a pause.

Naruto struggled with himself. He wanted to see the life drain from Itachi and Kisame the way he had seen it leaving his friend slowly. He wanted to see their pain as they exploded in a maelstrom of their red innards. He wanted the satisfaction of knowing that it was over after they had erupted from his anguish. "Is that all I can do..?"

"I dare wager so, unless you're willing to forget the whole ordeal," Blunky speculated. Naruto jolted, throwing his arms down while facing the tall figure.

"I'll never forget!" He yelled. Blunky rubbed the top of his long nose, thinking as he eyed the shorter nin. "Tcht.." Naruto jerked his head, then ran away from the giant being. The sounds, colors, sensation of the wind all blurred to him, washing over him like a confusing quilt through his troubled mind. Before he realized it, he was ontop of the monuments, glaring down at the peaceful city. There, friends were meeting, enjoying themselves, sharing and creating memories. He'd never be able to do that again with the young man who had impacted his life so much. He'd never get to thank him and say good bye. The tension in his chest and throat, the corners of his eyes overcame their dams.

Naruto fell to his hands and knees, his whole frame shaking randomly as he wept. His tears were carried away in the wind, like shimmering gems. "Why was I so weak..why didn't I realize this could've happened..?" He shook more, then weakly demanded, "why did you have to go so soon..?" _"Death is a natural part of life that everyone experiences, Naruto. If you aren't ready for it, it leaps at you with blinding speed. Things don't always work out the way you want them to." His friend's deep voice resounded in his mind._ But he had a wife, a daughter, a promising future. "Why for me.." _Naruto said softly, "I won't let you die here, aniki," as he left the slight weight of his slender friend off of his broader shoulder, standing up tall. He had failed him, failed to live up to his word, failed his way of the ninja._

_"It's not your fault," Jazlyn whispered at him. "..he was always mooning over you..Shirasei had no living family since he was young..he cherished the relationship..he felt he could raise you like he wasn't...our daughter is too young..too young to even know his name.." _ Was it just to satisfy that missing part of his life? That he was going to experience so soon anyways? Naruto could only let loose a trembling sigh, coughing in his tears.

_"Don't you sigh at me, you irresponsible little boy! Don't you care about anyone other than yourself? The power inside of you can be used to kill countless people!" _Tsunade screamed at him in his mind, jolting his eyes open. _ Naruto shrugged at her, tossing his head, then changed the subject._ Of course he cared. He cared now for sure..but it was too late. Why was this the price he had to pay?

"I still don't understand..why did you just throw your life away like that aniki?" _"I don't want to talk about it, Naruto!" His friend said quickly and angered. He had turned his head away from the whiskered youth beside him, eyes shut tightly as if he were being stabbed in the heart._

_"Oh..okay..sorry." Naruto sighed. His friend relaxed and opened his eyes again as they stood on the beautiful, stream hugged cliff, gazing out to the colorful picture infront of them. After an uncomfortable pause, the silence was broken by his friend's deep but unusually hollow sounding voice._

_"How's your life been, Naruto? It's been a long time now." _

"It was great up until you left.." He laughed bitterly. _"..stop feeling sorry for yourself.." _Blunky told him in his mind. _".. such selfish behavior shames him and yourself."_

Naruto clenched his jaw and eyes shut, trying to gain control over himself. "Is..is all I can do for you now really..just..vengeance..?" He sobbed.

"Na..Naruto-kun..?" Hinata's timid voice carried out to him. His eyes widened and he looked over at her feet, tears crossing over the ridge of his nose and spilling off the edge of his cheek bone. "Naruto-kun.." the youth found himself shakily climbing to his feet. She looked at him with her pale, shining eyes concerned and afraid for him. "Are..are you going to leave me..?" She said fearfully. Naruto slowly turned his gaze over to her, numbly.

Before him was the most adorable, cute, beautiful, soft, gentle, warm, loving thing he'd ever known in his life. But he had lost a kindred spirit, a brotherly soul, a teacher, a friend. Could he just let it all go? Naruto stared at her, the pained look staying as tears would sometimes drop singlely off his whiskered cheeks. He turned away, looking over the edge, thinking. The wind tugged stubbornly at their loose clothing and hair.

"All my life I was always alone," he began. "But these last few years showed me what I had been missing all that time, and makes me hurt so much more," he closed his eyes, shuddering slightly as more tears fell. Hinata felt her own heart ache with thick needles as she wanted to take away his pain any way she could. "Life is so damn unfair..I still don't understand why he gave up his life like that.."

"Naruto-kun.." Hinata said softly, not knowing where to go with it.

**_Draw two circles end to end. I feel a little more mature._** The thought suddenly came across his mind and made him smile despite the pain showing on his face. "I don't want to just forget aniki.." Naruto admitted. "I didn't want him to just fade away like that.." He said softly, trying not to become angry. _"..you're a helpless child," Itachi commented unexpectedly in his mind. "You may have slain Sasuke, which was a disappointment to me, but I could've done it myself without any effort at any given time." His eye-long bangs tugged in the gentle breeze as he gazed almost bored at the blonde nin._ Naruto felt his hands tremble, wanting to throttle the slender neck of Itachi.

"Naruto-kun..are..are you going to leave me..?" She asked again, fretfully. She had her small hands folded infront of her small chest, covered by the large, soft, supplenesses of being a young woman.

Naruto remembered his own feelings of frustration and pain, fear and now reality. _You can't die here, aniki. Don't just fade away from me..!_

"I..want to kill those two.." He said numbly, staring at the blue skies. Hinata whimpered her soft distress.

"Don't leave me, Naruto-kun.." she pleaded softly.

"I.." Naruto hesitated as something came to him. _"You were bent on revenge your whole life?" Shirasei asked inside of his head._

_"..yes.." Sasuke answered after a long, struggled pause, splayed out across the dirt._

_"Personally, I'm not finding it very rewarding. You should've lived like Naruto - loved, found peace, found beauty.." Shirasei jammed the sword down on the blonde nin's former best friend's throat. Shirasei was almost trembling with rage, his face looked disgusted at what he saw before him, his body stiff and tense. He had no respect for the life Sasuke had lead. "I'm sure there are about a million regrets he has..whereas you.." _

"..I.." _"_.._there's more to life..I guess I didn't need to see more proof of you knowing that though, since you've already begun to dip into love." _ Was this supposed to hold the teenager over for the emptiness in his heart now?_ "I'll always have this large part of me missing, here," Shirasei told him as he looked over to the blonde nin seated next to him, throat sore from tensing with emotion. He motioned to his heart. "Even after I return the murder, it'll never be replaced."_

How could he not let the want to see the pain returned to the two consume all his being? Naruto closed his eyes and sighed_. "I'm glad you found something like that in your life." Shirasei turned his uncovered eye from the youth's eyes to over the cliff. A gust of wind blew his bangs away from the right half of his face, holding the wavey hair foreward. "No one knows what the purpose to life is, but I'm happy you found what I feel is something that makes life worth living." It seemed the painful memories of his friend were forgotten, and Naruto was happy._

Naruto trembled, hiccupped as he choked on another sob, some more tears spilling over. He would never hear his friend's calm voice again, feel the gratifying sensation of learning something he would've never discovered on his own but had because his friend's tutalage, never see his soft smile when Naruto confessed things were going well in his own life. The darkness began to harshly fill with a soft, red haze. It wanted those who had taken away from him to suffer. "I have to see them die by my own hands.." Hinata closed her eyes pained when Naruto opened his. She shook, the corners of her opaque, jeweled, glossy eyes created glistening orbs of moisture. _"Naruto-kun," Kyuubi hesitated. "..please..no matter what happens..don't summon the power I've bestowed upon you out of anger again.." she pleaded. "You may turn into what I was once...and never return. It's a sensation that blanks out the rest of your personality. I don't want to lose my Naruto-kun. You were the first person I ever cared about in this world.."_

_Naruto saw the timid, little girl with gem like eyes hiding behind a tree at recess, hugging its trunk. She tried to hide herself behind it even more from his view when she became aware he had noticed her presence and that she had been watching him. 'What a weirdo. Why does she always stare at me like that but when I try to look and talk to her, she hides?' he asked himself in his young, boylike voice._

"Hinata-chan, were all my presents from you over these years?" Hinata started, a cold sweat covering her. Her mind chilled, and she felt hazy inside of her cool body. It was cloudiest in her chest.

"..yes, Naruto-kun. I..I sent you everything..including your orange jumpsuit.." she confessed numbly, still startled how the question had come out of nowhere without even realizing the admission she had just made.

"I see.." He said, closing his eyes. The tall youth sighed, trembling slightly. "Sometimes that's all that kept me going when I was little. Just looking foreward to that one gift once a year, that one show of kindness. That proof that someone out there cared about me.." he admitted. "I refuse to let revenge take over my life dattebayo, that's a horrible mistake. I know it, believe it." He said soberly. Hinata still seemed unsure of what to say or think. After a pause, Naruto added "Hinata-chan," he said, gazing determinedly over the edge, some tears falling solo off his whiskered cheeks. She looked at him, distraught, wanting to take away his pain. "There's so much more to live for. I know that's what my aniki tried to show and teach me, and help me find out for myself." He trembled and closed his eyes. More tears, more knives in Hinata's heart. "And I have found out something good enough. I'm not going to think of nothing but revenge. I will have mine - but when it comes, it comes. I'll be ready to take it the next time I see those bastards," he declared grimly. Naruto closed his eyes, his tears carried off into the wind. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and faced the young woman. She reached over and brushed away some of the damp tears from his whiskered cheeks gently, timidly, heart oozing something uncomfortable but pleasent in her small chest. He gently took her hand in his own two, eyes flickering from moisture as he gazed into her pale eyes. He squeezed her small hand softly as he gave a sharp intake of breath, bracing himself, as if the gesture would give him all the strength in the world, as if the next thing he was going to do would take no less than that strength. Her heart stopped beating, she couldn't hear the soft wind blowing in her ears, tugging at their clothing and hair. Finally, after the timelessness passed, Naruto spoke softly.

"Life's too short, Hinata**(2)**. I...I love you." He said with difficulty, waiting for a response.

"Naruto! I love you!" And they both laughed short, nervous, geniune laughs, their tears of joy being carried away by the wind, mingling together. The pain was gone from Naruto, the burden was lifted from his shoulders. _Is this what you had meant, aniki? It must be, this is so much stronger than the pain I had felt all day, and the hate that burned in my soul. _They became one, eyes half closed, pressing against each other, arms wrapped to hold the other as if they would never have to part. Their lips were flush together, heads tilted, a great feeling of giddiness inside their stomachs and chests, eyes closing together. Their hearts melted against their pressed chests and became one in their minds and souls. The two young lovers could only think of their own happiness at this forever moment, how much they could make the other happy, how much it would mean to them to see them cry with joy every day. The two embraced each other, not letting their lips part, trying to press themself and the other as much as possible together, as if letting go would mean letting go forever.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) This was foreshadowed a long time ago - see if you can find where.**

**(2) Supposedly no title suffix at all is a level of familiarity that is only typically enjoyed by lovers and married couples in the protection of their own homes when they are alone (If Naruto doesn't use any title for Hinata in the Japanese manga or anime then it's no wonder why Hinata blushes every time she sees him). According to Edric Loto, another fanfiction author here anyways. I'm willing to go with it until I'm told otherwise.**

About the author

The author of this what may be concidered novel is a young man, trying to find his way in the world, his path to walk. He decided shortly before the creation of this novel that he wanted to write. Up until this story, the author had only written poetry seriously, so this was a big step. The author chose for his first writing work to be a fanfiction so he could test the waters, see what methods he liked, what his style would be without starting from scratch. This is why some chapters are so different in methods of writing from each other. The author has walked many different paths in his young life up until this point, as can be hinted at during different parts of the story. He has had to deal with losing loved ones far too soon, before he could say good bye or even tell them how much he loved them and how grateful he was for the impacts they had on his life. He is a pensive, solitairy, lonesome, figure who philosophizes and theorizes about many different interests of his. To share these views is his dream, and to bring joy through the creation of writing so others can use their wonderful imagination and remember there are beautiful things in life is something he wants to do through writing.

The author would like to live on forever through his writing. Death is rarely ever poetic, and comes typically too soon and at the most inopportune times. But just because death exists does not mean one should not enjoy the things in life. In particular, creating, loving, and friends. And reading of course.

Even though the story is completed, feel free to leave criticisms and share this story with friends you'd think will enjoy it. The author, as stated before, was using this story to fine tune his own style of writing and find his way in this sense, and would greatly appreciate it. This story was, after all, created in roughly two weeks without a single thought put in about it before he began to create it. It was pure inspiration. He will update you on if he ever manages to get something published. No, when he does.

-Murdah

PS: Fanart of the Original Characters would be greatly appreciated.


	27. Author's Note updated 2012!

Hey, wow. Uh what to say..while writing this fanfiction I was possessed with a true passion to complete it. I want to sincerely say thank you to everyone who took the time to completely read through the story, and further thank anyone who has left me criticism and/or words of encouragement. Really, from the bottom of my heart. It actually meant a lot to me back in '06 when I wrote this, my first complete story. A lot of the compliments I have received are quite flattering as well as most of the critique I've gotten over the years has been duly noted and I hope at this point realized.

I will say that I am actually done writing fanfiction..yeah I know six years later is a bit late to be coming out and saying that, but it's because through my path in life I've arrived at a different field in the anime/manga world: podcasting. My pal Donwun and myself have created a community on the spill movie review website and I encourage anime/manga enthusiasts to come check it out as well as our podcast. You can check my profile for where to look us up as unfortunately I can't link anything anywhere on . Sorry about cutting into the experience of my story and everything to plug myself but well..I mean I apparently have had fans all these years, so maybe you'd like me in this other area of anime/manga as well, ya know? Alright sorry about that, on with the rest of things pertaining to Faded Dreams! ..ooh..kinda never changed any incorrect Japanese there..sorry anyone who actually called me out on that stuff.

Well, certainly have a lot of questions about the story it seems. I just spent a handful of days off at a casino but my biggest regret honestly? Not taking a writing pad and pen. The entire time I was there I was just brain storming for my eventual-first-purely-mine-own story I want to write as well as some of the questions and criticisms I ran across or know will be asked eventually, after writing this story. So I guess I'll throw them in here before focusing on my other story which is proving to be much more difficult. Should've just made another drama/romance..

1. **Seems like a big problem and question is why did I end the story where I did.** There were a lot of open ends and possibilities readers felt I should've pursued. Quite a few reasons I ended it where I did, two of the big ones being I could only see the story going on a few more chapters at best, and the embrace ontop of the monuments just seemed like a great ending scene. The other reasons are I hate super powerful characters running around rampant for a long, long time - I'd be writing a DBZ fanfiction if I wanted to see mountains explode by someone snapping their fingers as well as I dislike stories that are simply too long - putting people to sleep is not one of my varied goals with my writing. The story is somewhere about ninety-thousand words. That's a good deal and I'm sure for quite a few people, with a precursory glance the length alone turned them off.

2. **Uh..Naruto's Kyuubi form is supposed to be a lot more powerful..? **Again, hate the excessively powerful character thing running around for a long time. Even for a little while. If you've read ahead of the anime and into the manga, then you're aware I really down played the power of the Kyuubi. Three tails' strength is a lot more powerful - Naruto can use his chakra aura and extend it to fight very destructively. The difference between three and four tails is insane, I'd even say immeasurable. Infact, in the manga, Jiraiya was only able to train Naruto up to three tails because with a fourth, he would become a miniture Kyuubi and go beserk (which is originally how Jiraiya got the scar on his chest). But it makes sense being how powerful Kisame and Itachi actually are (again this is displayed very well in the manga shortly after where the anime has stopped). Basically compared to anything I put in my story..just using the anime's three tail form would've been stepping far over that thin line that I hate.

3. **Why step over that line at all then? **From the begining I knew it was a line that was going to have to be crossed. Could you imagine what the story would be like if I didn't? It'd just drag on. Therefore, I shoved it at the end.

4. **What's with the character deaths? **Sasuke..god I hate that guy. When I wrote this I wasn't aware how he had changed in the manga and made an estimation of his personality - honestly, I think my guess was better than how he currently is in the manga. I just hate the guy more now that I've read the manga. He did die because he was terminally stupid, but I think I'm fairly correct saying he is terminally stupid anyways so it wasn't too off character. Despite Kakashi telling him how his life would just be empty after avenging his clan, he goes anyways willing to throw his life and consciousness, essentially his soul away as the price to be Orochimaru's vessel and apprentice. He threw away a girl who loved him with all her heart despite him being a shit head who never gave her so much as a small compliment. He's also fairly arrogant and irritating. Fucking hate that guy, could rant about his dumbass all day..

One of the few things I had decided prior to writing the first word of the story was that Tameiya was going to die. Life's not fair. The lesson she was supposed to show is to not get so caught up competing to be blind to the more important things in life, and not to be afraid to confront a what if situation that could affect the rest of your life. Who knows how things would've been if she and Shirasei were a couple.

Shirasei died, which was foreshadowed like hell throughout the story by the things he said because I seriously felt he was just taking up too much spotlight. It's a Naruto and Hinata fanfiction, not an OC one. But he was just too useful to keep preaching philosophies and such, so he had to die if I was going to give a non central character so much attention. Originally I was going to have him live and also be the one to slay Tameiya but..in a burst of enlightened inspiration I thought that eventually Naruto needed to face Sasuke and the issues he brought up, not simply be mentioned in the story and that was it for the aggravating piece of shit. Shirasei needed to illustrate a few very important lessons - enjoy life, cherish those you have and let them know so, and stand tall infront of the things you've created. His comatose death also showed that not everyone can die a hero's death, but regardless of how someone dies, when they're very important to you, you're going to feel it.

Deaths in general occured because I wanted to remind people that even if you really respect someone, think they're very talented, they have limits. People are mortal. There's always someone better than you except for that one person in the entire world.

**5. You introduced some really cool characters and bloodlines. **Why'd they get so little action? Again, not an OC focused story. I'm glad to have heard that though - while I couldn't use all the characters I wanted to test out and for some (such as Jazlyn) in the exact manner I had wanted, the ability to still shove them in there a little and test the waters a bit with them was rather thrilling. Remember..the story was a drama/romance, not an action/adventure. If you liked the OC's, hopefully you'll enjoy the story I want to eventually write being they'd be the actual main characters (though in most cases I would have to change them quite a bit).

**6. Why didn't Sasuke use his Sharingan on Shirasei? **The first time Sasuke saw Shirasei, he was useless and could only spectate partially. (Spoiler alert) Sharingan is like a drug - abuse it and you waste your eyesight. In his characteristic arrogance and I suppose more newer whimsical side, he felt Shirasei was not worth permanant damage. He wasn't a terribly challenging opponent for Sasuke after all - Shirasei only managed to kill the teenager through a conjuction of hastily thrown together jutsu in a life-or-death bluff.

7. **Chapter 23 seems out of place.. **Yeah well, I did say I was writing this to test out the waters with writing styles. Honestly, despite it being skippable I still felt it was nice to answer a few questions about some of the OCs while not directly affecting and progressing the current storyline. And writing styles wasn't the only thing I wanted to test out - the chapter allowed me to mess around with the characters a bit. Oh, and it's the most read chapter past the initial five, you perverts..It comes out to around to one and a half more times read than any of the lesser read chapters (the majority). I see if I aimed for a romance heavy story, I'd probably get a good run for my money..

8. **Probably the second biggest suggestion **- Write a sequel! I dunno..I'm not terribly fond of sequels, trilogies and remixes. They're nice sometimes but..I mean if I was going to make it longer, I wouldn't end it and go off to write a sequel. Maybe I'll push a little further like I could've in another story, merging into the ending's timeline but I dunno. Like I said, I could honestly only see it going on a few more chapters. The current story I'm working on is really tough being it's a different spectrum and I'm apparently not finding the waters very friendly for my type of writing. Maybe I'll just remake it as another drama/romance and use Rock Lee for commedy. He's so much easier to think of stuff for funny business..then there's Gai and Neji, very good humor assets. Sigh..

9. **There are typos.. **Yeah..my computer ironically doesn't have a spell checker so I have to do that shit by hand. Please just use your god given brain to work through two switched-around letters or words, or whatever until I get around to fixing it. It sounds narcessistic, but I do enjoy reading this story I wrote a lot, surprisingly, and periodically do so to spell check it and leisurely pass the time.

10.** Your Japanese is incorrect.** Thank you, let me know what the correct Japanese would be and I'll replace it. I don't speak or write it so it's all been hearsay and guesswork for the most part from fanfictions, fansubs and an online translator.

11. **Tameiya one-shotted an Akatsuki member? **Look, like I mentioned before about Sasuke being stabbed in the heart and neck - you're not living through that kind of crap in my stories if you're human. I like the whole believable, mortality thing. Also something else - currently a member of Akatsuki (Hidan) is a controversial topic. It's under debate whether he is from Hidden Rain with a graphical error on his headband (three lines, very similiar to Rain's symbol) or if he's from an unknown village. The short event of Tameiya's duel allows Hidan to be either, while also clearing up the Tameiya and Akatsuki issue and solving the possibility of there already being a Rain nin already in Akatsuki.

Also, Orochimaru left Akatsuki because he was begining to fear Itachi's Sharingan. Notice both shinobi are former Leaf Ninja. I rest my case, though I really didn't need to point that out.

**12. Uh..Rain is an enemy of Fire. Remember the whole foot race arc..? **Yep. But the way I see it really is that if Wind becomes Fire's ally, they have to also being they're right on the boarder and Grass is allied with Fire as well as Rain. It's a very tight spot to not be allies with your strongest ally's allies.

13. **Icha Icha Tactics is actually a written novel in the manga.. **Yeah, but that doesn't mean every other book in the series is. I still hold my theory of Icha Icha being a manga for the most part is the most logical knowing Jiraiya's personality and lust.

14. **Who was team Hanshoumaru's fourth nin? Jazlyn and Blunky's third partner and trainer?** It would make more sense to me if only really big counties such as Fire and Wind operated in four man cells. Keep in mind that it was only necessary for genin to be in a three man cell for the Chuunin exam. Blunky and Jazlyn of course had their own trainer who would consequently be their third partner as well (simply never shown in the story), but I felt it was just so much more logical for Rain to operate by three man cells as opposed to four.

15. **Jazlyn and Blunky were a team/Genin a lot shorter than Tameiya and Shirasei, but they were in the same Chuunin exam? **Yep. It was mentioned in the anime/manga that most Genin wait a while before attempting their Chuunin exam, unlike the Rookie Nine. Even Team Gai waited an extra year before attempting the exam, and look how strong two of their members are (sorry Ten Ten).

16.** Is Jazlyn dreaming all of Chapter 23? **Yes. Though they're memories if that wasn't clear enough.

17. **There's a troll in your story.. **Given there are demons sealed away in children, I don't think it was that far off. Elves and dwarves and mages..drew the line there. But smaller fantasy things like oni, tengu, trolls (which are Japanese fantasy lore)..I think it wasn't pushing it too much given what's used in Naruto.

18. **Why'd Naruto receive the kind of training he did? **The whole some OC showing up to teach Naruto some insanely powerful stuff is just..really over done. And again, I hate the way powerful main character drudge. I liked trying a different approach with an OC interacting a lot with Naruto and I think Jiraiya's initial training suited his character a lot better than just jumping straight into 'ninja' arts. Besides, Naruto's basics are a complete mess. He only has a two in taijutsu because he made up two taijutsu moves. Seriously..his kicks and punches are like a brawling drunkard's.

19. **What's with the time skips? **No one wants a play-by-play for every day, especially over a three year period..remember stuff being too long? Well it doesn't just get boring reading it..stealing someone's diary is a lot less rewarding than you might think.

20. **There should've been Naruto x Hinata hentai. A lot of it. Dreams, day dreams, actual happenings.. **You pervert. I suppose, but I found their love too timid and precious to be willing to cross that line for any actual happenings in the story. Dreams and daydreams sure I guess..maybe I'll add some more as I spell check the story.

21. **Akatsuki needs to die. **Yep. But it's not a Sasuke fanfiction, so I felt the whole avenging thing wasn't that necessary for the story to finally end.

22. **Some characters seem kind of out of character in their cameos. **People change over time. Their goals and views of life grow and they mature in some way at least. That's why team Kurenai kind of played match maker (if it's obvious to anyone who Hinata fancies, it's her team), and why Ino seemed less of a prickly rose despite her being in Naruto's company of all people. I think I got Jiraiya and Tsunade down pretty well though. Kakashi..well I could see him being that obsessed with Icha Icha..

23. **Fucking 'dattebayo' and 'believe it'... **I saw it was a trademark characteristic of Naruto, so I used it. Not much more to it than that. In the anime he uses 'dattebayo' like every two sentences on average, which includes the "uh's," "ittai's" and such.

24. **You could've put Sakura in for at least a couple of parts. **Or I could've had her heal fish all day and night. It's true though - there were at least a couple of parts that could've panned out pretty well if I had put her in for a couple of interactions with Naruto. However, I was actually a little afraid it might steer the story towards a love triangle or Sakura x Naruto, which I wasn't willing to compromise with. So, I just kept it safe and only mentioned her minimally on things that had to be addressed.

25.** You foreshadow a lot. **Well, it is a style of writing and I was testing the waters. I didn't make anything too obvious, did I? That means I messed up..

26.** Wow..cool anime openers you use. **Well if you want to see their videos yourself, I searched through Youtube for some good ones of each. You can click my name at the top left corner and see the links as well as my other information references. I had a great Samurai Champloo one but it was removed for some reason, and after spending about 40 mins I settled on using one that had no subtitles at all as opposed to inaccurate ones.

27. **Why aren't there any women in Akatsuki? **Well I actually think there are. There's a blue haired member whose face readers were not shown, but they wear a delicate flower in their hair. Just a guess, but I think that's a woman. I also think Deidara's a woman, though I've seen Deidara referred to as both a man and a woman in the manga so..that's really up for debate. Just think she looks and acts more like a tomboyish woman. Don't take my word for it though, I'm not going to strain myself over this or the fact the leader's outline looks mysteriously like Obito's.

28. **What exactly were some characters' stats in this story with those weird graph things from the Leafninja website? **Well if you really are curious.

Kisame - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 4, Force: 5, Speed: 4, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 5

Itachi - Haha, well he didn't really do anything so no need..

Sasuke (chp 19 flashback) - Ninjutsu: 3.5, Taijutsu: 2.5, Genjutsu: 1.5, Intelligence: 2.5, Force: 3.5, Speed: 4.5, Stamina: 3.5, Seal Knowledge: 3

Sasuke (prior to death) - Ninjutsu: 4.5, Taijutsu: 4, Genjutsu: 3.5, Intelligence: 3, Force: 4, Speed: 4.5, Stamina: 4.5, Seal Knowledge: 4.5

Shirasei Fang (teenager in chp 23) - Ninjutsu: 3, Taijutsu: 4, Genjutsu: 1.5, Intelligence: 4, Force: 1, Speed: 1.5, Stamina: 1, Seal Knowledge: 1.5

Shirasei Fang (prior timeskip) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 4, Genjutsu: 2, Intelligence: 4, Force: 2, Speed: 2, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 2

Shirasei Fang (after timeskip) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 5, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 4, Force: 2, Speed: 4, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 3

Shirasei Fang (using Oboenagi) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 5, Genjutsu 5, Intelligence: 4, Force: 2, Speed: 5, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 4

Tameiya Ashura (teenager in chp 23) - Ninjutsu: 3, Taijutsu: 1, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 3, Force: 2, Speed: 3, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 3

Tameiya Ashura (adult1) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 2, Genjutsu: 5, Intelligence: 3, Force: 3, Speed: 5, Stamina: 4.5, Seal Knowledge: 4

Jazlyn Seiya (teenager chp 23) - Ninjutsu: 2, Taijutsu: 2, Genjutsu: 2, Intelligence: 2, Force: 3, Speed: 3, Stamina: 3, Seal Knowledge: 2

Jazlyn Seiya (adult) - Ninjutsu: 2, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 3, Force: 4, Speed: 4.5, Stamina: 4, Seal Knowledge: 3

Naruto (prior timeskip) - Ninjutsu: 3, Taijutsu: 2, Genjutsu: 1, Intelligence: 1.5, Force: 3, Speed: 3, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 1

Naruto (At time of Akatsuki run in) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: 1, Intelligence: 3, Force: 4, Speed: 3, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 1

Naruto (Three tails2) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: 1, Intelligence: 3, Force: 5, Speed: 4, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 1

Naruto (Eight tails3) - Ninjutsu: 1, Taijutsu: 1, Genjutsu: 1, Intelligence: 1, Force: 5, Speed: 5, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 1.

Hinata (prior time skip) - Ninjutsu: 1, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: 1, Intelligence: 3, Force: 1, Speed: 2, Stamina: 1.5, Seal Knowledge: 2

Hinata (after time skip) - Ninjutsu: 3, Taijutsu: 4, Genjutsu: 2, Intelligence: 3, Force: 2.5, Speed: 3, Stamina: 2, Seal Knowledge: 3

Hanshoumaru 'Bakudan' Seiya - Ninjutsu: 3, Taijutsu: 1, Genjutsu: 5, Intelligence: 4, Force: 5, Speed: 5, Stamina: 5, Seal Knowledge: 1

Blunky Von Futch (teenager in chp 23) - Ninjutsu: 2, Taijutsu: 1, Genjutsu: 3, Intelligence: 2, Force: 1, Speed: 2.5, Stamina: 1, Seal Knowledge: 3

Blunky Von Futch (adult) - Ninjutsu: 4, Taijutsu: 1, Genjutsu: 4, Intelligence: 3, Force: 1.5, Speed: 4, Stamina: 1.5, Seal Knowledge: 3

1 Note: This does not reflect her skill with her sword.

2 Note: There is no level beyond Hokage but you can bet it'd be the next if there was for his stamina.

3 Note: Yeah..look above and increase it expotientially and apply it to all the 5's.

I'm sure more questions/suggestions may occur to me later one way or another. But remember that the story's already complete, so making suggestions that change the storyline more than a step is probably futile.


	28. Preview for next story

Okay well, a lot of people say they were unhappy with where the story ended. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of sequals or trilogies, nor remixes and I only see Faded Dreams being able to go on at best around three more chapters. However, I did decide to make a coinciding story / semi-sequal to Faded Dreams. However, it is going to be a lot different of a theme and target audience (which can be a fortunate or unfortunate thing).

Here is a few 'spoilers' of characters that will tell you whether you will love it or hate it. I'll add a collection of snippits tomorrow to also see if the idea is well received.

--------------------------------

_Inuzuka Kiba: _The 'hero' of this story. Kiba is an adolescent dealing with puberty and with the awkward changes in his body causing chronic clumsiness (a very bad trait for a ninja). He rides around on his now monstrous canine companion, Akamaru, to try to conceal this fact as much as he can. Inspired by the events in Faded Dreams, the youth is on a life mission to find true love and avoid a certain psycho in the process.

_Akamaru:_ Kiba's canine companion. Like most animals, Akamaru only has an on/off switch for most things that facilitate his behavior and actions - most noticeably the one that makes him want to ram his giant weiner into flesh repeatedly.

_Auburame Shino:_ Recently decided to change his outlook on life, personality, and hobbies along with his trademark outfit. Find out more in the series.

_Hyuuga Hinata: _Hooks up with Naruto in Faded Dreams and lives happily ever after. She does make some appearances in this story though - still the same soft spoken and adorable, pretty, young woman she was in the previous story.

_Rock Lee:_ Still idolizes Maitto Gai. Still trains insane physical endurance and strength excersizes. Still babbles about the passion of youth too much. Pretty much an unchanged character.

_Hyuuga Neji_: Constantly battles with his inner pervert demon after discovering his Byaakugan can see through clothes.

_Ten Ten:_ Loves weapons. Especially metal ones. Excessively.

_Akamichi Chouji:_ Recently went through a very uncharacteristic physical change which will effect all aspects of his life. Find out more in the up coming story.

_Nara Shikamaru:_ Still the young, lazy genius he was before. He's perhaps more wimpy in this story than in the anime/manga of Naruto.

_Yamanaka Ino:_ You caught a glimpse of her in Faded Dreams. She loves gossip and match-making while apparently unable to match-make for herself.

_Haruna Sakura:_ Eventually grows into her forehead and monstrous physical strength. I still don't like her despite her many hours of fish healing training making her finally useful.

_Uchiha Sasuke:_ While his career as a ninja ended in Faded Dreams, he does make several appearances in this story early on (before his departure in the coinciding story). He's still an asshole I don't like, but I get him pretty good in this story so it's a price I'm willing to pay.

_Uzumaki Naruto:_ Hooked up with the lovely miss Hyuuga Hinata in Faded Dreams. He's calmed down and matured quite a bit from the trials and hardships he had to go through in the coinciding story, but still makes some appearances in this story. He still thinks of ramen a tad bit too much.

_Gaara:_ Has a crush on someone he once tried to kill (which could be anyone).

_Kankuro:_ Has become paranoid that the whole puppet and kabuki make up persona is giving off the wrong impression.

_Temari:_ Likes to bully Shikamaru. A lot more flirtatious than in the anime/manga.

_Hyuuga Hanabi:_ Angered at Hinata being reinstated as heiress to the Hyuuga clan, Hanabi has embarked on personal mission to prove her worth and repossess the recently removed title. Has a crush on Konohamaru.

_Sarutobi Konohamaru:_ With Naruto's decline in pranks and hyper activity, Konohamaru has surpassed his rival and become his village's number one hyper-active ninja. He aspires to be Hokage still. He's still at the age where he thinks cooties are gross.

_Hatake Kakashi:_ Perhaps more obsessed with Icha Icha Paradise than in the actual Naruto manga and anime. He has an apparent fetish that you can find out more about in the story I'm going to write.

_Mitarashi Anko:_ More deranged than you knew her as. She has a huge crush on the hero of this story, and lets him know at every opportunity possible. She sees herself as a super heroine in her own whacky mind, and still feels obligated to kill Orochimaru. Her said crush is determined to avoid her for more than one reason.

_Shiranui Genma:_ Constantly mistaken for Gekkou Hayate who passed away during the Chuunin exams. Aspires to step out from the shadow of the apparently famous shinobi who surprisingly no one realizes passed away.

_Shizune:_ Recently has left Tsunade's side to attempt to pay off the Hokage's debts before they become public in an effort to levredge time for Tsunade.

_Tsunade:_ Pretty much the same as you saw in Faded Dreams - short tempered, over worked, beautiful looking and smart. She is the freaking Hokage after all.

_Jiraiya:_ You saw him a lot in Faded Dreams, he's the same as in that story - a bit more mature and sensative to the finer gender, yet an outright pervert.

_Unimo Iruka:_ Constantly hopeful that former students will remember him to only be let down. Has taken to eating to fill the void inside of himself. Eating ramen. He also is constantly trying to solve the mystery of the horrible male to female shinobi ratio.

_Kurenai: _The beautiful Jounin has recently found herself resorting to violence and genjutsu to deter uncontrollable waves of suitors.

_Sarutobi Asuma:_ Still smokes. Still lazy. Still loves it.

_Maitto Gai: _Still the same as in the anime - loves making unreasonable wagers with himself to attempt to force himself to not lose, babbling about the fire of youth and trying to come off as cooler than Kakashi to be constantly thwarted by his rival's horrible attention span.

_Blunky Von Futch:_ Made his debut in Faded Dreams. Still the same, gentlemanly character you might've fallen in love with, but has become more 'southernly,' if you can understand that. Has fallen to chronic drinking, smoking and become an addict to poker and quick draw duels. He's well known for being angular and wearing the broad rimmed hat Hanshoumaru was always seen wearing after winning it from the squat man's first and only poker game (Blunky almost met certain death by a stocky fist).

_Seiya Jazlyn:_ A huge pervert and avid fan of Icha Icha Paradise. She was widowed in Faded Dreams but after her initial shock, has returned to her nose bleeding ways. She also has a baby daughter.

_Seiya Hanshoumaru:_ Still the tough little guy who has a soft spot for small, cute animals and kids as he was in Faded Dreams. He recently lost his trademark broad rimmed hat to Blunky. He's currently in the process of finding a new head adornment.

_Orochimaru:_ You'll see..**stiffles laughter**

_Kabuto: _Has recently become a real nervous eddy in the presence of Orochimaru, but you'll understand why quick enough.

_Uchiha Itachi: _Has become excessively jumpy due to a traumatizing event in Faded Dreams.

_Hoshigaki Kisame:_ Is also excessively jumpy due to the same event in the previous coinciding story.

_Akatsuki in general:_ The same. Perhaps the only noteworthy mention of the organization other than the two members listed above is that people are constantly poking at Deidara's sexual ambiguity.

_Sai: _In an attempt to make friends and understand people, he's become a hentai artist. Draw your own conclusions.

_Yamamoto:_ He's got wood. And he's fond of letting people know that off the bat.


	29. Preview II for next story

cough Previews of the coinciding story. It'll let you know if you're going to love it or hate it. I tried not to give too much away.

----------------------------------------

First snippit

In the dark, dank lair, so much akin to a snake's, Sasuke found himself staring infront of his savior, the one who was to help him bring vengeance upon his bastard brother. He had been willing to give up his body, his soul, his cognance and existance to get rid of the dull, empty pain inside of himself. However, he was begining to have second thoughts.

The raspy, rattling voice of his sensei grated against his ear from his candle lit seat. "Sasukeeeeeeyyyeeeyee..." Orochimaru made certain to waggle and twist his several foot long tongue in inhumanly possible ways.

"..." Sasuke stared at the pale man several feet infront of him. He continued to wrythe his purple tongue.

"Sasukeeeyeeeyeee..." He sat still with his serpent eyes smiling, sprawled out in his thronelike seat. Kabuto knelt next to him obediently, looking at the taller man next to him through the corner of his eyes, head bowed. He was covered in a cold sweat.

"..yes..?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.

"Sasukeyeeyeeeye..." He curled his tongue into a corkscrew spiral infront of his face, then with it twitching randomly, straighted it out and let it flop around in the air.

"..uh.." Sasuke felt extremely uncomfortable, jittery in his chest. He turned to leave and managed a step.

"Sasukeeeyeeeeyeeee..." Sasuke trembled slightly. He bit his quivering lip and determined to wipe clean the uneasiness inside of him, managed a straight face. Sasuke turned to face his sensei.

"Yes?" He asked, determined to be emotionless.

"..blehhehe-ahlaleehhh..." Orochimaru continued the unpredictable movement of his insanely long tongue.

".." Sasuke shuddered a little bit, one eye tightening slightly. He turned to go and took another step. The voice rasped to him over his shoulder.

"Sasukeeeyeeeeyeeee..." Sasuke stopped, cringing while facing away from the pale man. With much dread inside of him, he turned and faced Orochimaru again.

"What is it, sensei?" The man only continued to flail his tongue. Sasuke made a soft, short cough to clear his throat. "Well if that's all.." He turned to go quicker than before and took another step but was halted again by the grating voice.

"Sasukeeeyeee.." Sasuke looked ahead of him, into the light. _I'm so close but so far away..._ He swallowed invulentarily. Obediently he turned back around to Orochimaru's unpredictable, flopping tongue.

------------------------------------------

Second Snippit

Kiba groaned, looking up from his face-down prone position helplessly among the moonlit sand dunes. The night was brisk with a bite of cold, and the wind was light. He had immense dread at his momentary immobility. Over his shoulder was the sillouhette of a slender figure, short and close-fitting clothing tugging in the breeze. The top of her head was wildly spikey in the lighting. Kiba trembled, eyes widening._ Not now..!_

"Inukiba-kun, don't fret your handsome little head! I, the Aikage**(1)** shall prevail over this fiend with the unrivaled power of love and justice!" Anko's high-pitched voice rang out over the crisp silence, jabbing her finger at the taller, broader figure maybe fifty feet away, straight across from her and the laying Kiba. The offending sillouhette had long, limp, shoulder-length hair that blew in the breeze. But the anonymity of the shape was broken with a chill inducing wave of dread. A small, thick, tube-like projection began to snake its way out of the head portion of the shade.

"Bleehh-lehhahhh..." Orochimaru's voice rasped out to the two. Kiba realized the strange sound in his ear was his teeth nervously grinding ontop of each other.

"Come, let us do the ultimate battle so I may impress my little snuggle puppy and win his unending affection, arch villain Orochimaru!" She shouted, bounding off her hill, spraying sand behind her. The sound of cloth fluttering could be heard as the unpredictable jerkings of what was apparently cape trailed behind her shoulders.

"Blehehh-ehh? Sasukeeyeeyeee!" Orochimaru mimicked her action, spraying sand behind himself. The two figures climbed their aerial arcs, their tongues flapping in the wind. Anko's short tongue was sticking against her soft cheek, Orochimaru's trailed several feet behind his head magically staying out of his hair.

------------------------------------------

Third Snippit  


Neji's brow twitched over his large, pale, crystal white eye. He bit his quiverring lip. Across from him stood the slender form of Ten Ten, holding on of her many classical taijutsu stances. _I have to use it, but what if it sees too much again? I..I can't focus when I see her like that!_ A trail of sweat traced down from his temple to his jaw, then dropped off.

"Ha!" Her confident, feminine voice rang out as she leapt as Neji. _Shi..shimatta!_ He took a half-step backwards, spreading his legs more, arms out to the side a bit. His mind was only producing half thoughts, his fingers twitching, being told to do multiple things at once. The next thing he knew he was jolted and had a dull pain on his cheek as he saw the blue skies above. His mind reeled as the world dipped to the side at an angle, behind him wildly. All the colors infront of him turned grey, then their brightness/shades inverted as he fell in slow motion. He felt a second jolt, shaking the world and his body followed by a sharp gasp.

"Oh my god, Neji!" He felt small, soft hands positioning him up from the laying position. His view was adjusted to an angle from laying down. He shook his head to straighten out the jittery world around him. He realized Ten Ten had the perfect sized coverings on her slim chest - subtle but present. He felt something hot trail from one nostril, over his lips and begin dripping thickly off his chin. "You're bleeding!"

"Gai-sensei! Neji's hurt!" Lee ran over, stomping his feet. Neji saw the bowl cut and thick, black brows of his doll-looking teammate come into view.

Gai, looking very similiar but with sharp instead of widely opened eyes and a very squashed nose moved over. He knitted his eyebrows. "She only tapped him. He's not hurt."

"But Gai-sensei! How come he was made immobile?" Lee pressed and Ten Ten began wiping away the blood, still naked to Neji. She had no tan line...he felt the other nostril issue hot fluid over his lips and chin.

"Hm.." Gai rubbed his mug with his thick, rough hand while observing Neji. "Could it be...? Yes, that must be it, my kawaii student!"

"What, Gai-sensei!" Lee looked up to the man with every ounce of his attention.

"The lotus of love has bloomed for our young companion Neji! His intense flame of youth is leeking through his nose with the blossoming of his lotus!" Gai exclaimed, fist held infront of his chest. Lee's eyes sparkled.

"Gai-sensei! Is it true? That's such a wonderful thing! The world is full of beauty in the form of endless youth!" Lee jumped to his feet.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!" The held their arms out to the side. The horizon sparkled behind them.

"Lee.." Gai's eyes twinkled.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee almost jumped, taking a step foreward.

"Lee!" Gai threw his arms around his smaller lookalike.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee returned the gesture, the horizon becoming a crash of yellow to orange to red, ontop of the spraying white and blues of the ocean behind them.

------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**

**(1) 'Love Shadow'**


End file.
